British forces caught in attack by Taliban

Taliban and al-Qa'ida fighters have carried out an attack on American troops and British special forces at their base in eastern Afghanistan just days after the Pentagon claimed the enemy had been resoundingly defeated in the region.

Three allied Afghan soldiers were killed and an American soldier was injured in the sustained attack at the airfield in Khost, an area adjacent to the one where the Americans carried out their recent offensive.

The operation, codenamed Anaconda, had been described by General Tommy Franks, the US commander of the Afghan war, as an "unqualified and absolute success". Part of the Royal Marines-led British expeditionary force will be deployed in Khost, and the attack on the airbase has reinforced fears held by senior British officials that the United States has exaggerated its "success" and inflated the body count.