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The U.S. Army says a truck bomb detonated June 1 outside Forward Operating Base Salerno, headquarters for the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division. The blast allowed 10 suspected Taliban insurgents carrying small arms and wearing explosive vests to enter the base; Pfc. Vincent Ellis, 22, was killed during the attack. (Courtesy LiveLeak.com / June 8, 2012) |
ANCHORAGE, Alaska—
A truck bomb detonated outside Forward Operating Base Salerno in eastern Afghanistan last week, allowing Taliban insurgents to enter the base in an attack that fatally injured Alaska-based soldier Pfc. Vincent Ellis and killed two civilians, according to the U.S. Army.FOB Salerno serves as the brigade headquarters for the Alaska-based 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division while the unit is deployed in Afghanistan.
The nationalities of the civilians killed in the attack, which occurred at about 1 p.m. on June 1, were unclear Friday.
The attack caused an unknown number of injuries to Alaska-based soldiers. The Army says most of them were minor and treatable at FOB Salerno, but Ellis died from his injuries several days later at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.
The shockwave from the truck bomb blast caused the partial collapse of a storage area for the base Post Exchange and the main base dining facility during the busy lunch hour on June 1, according to the Army. Both buildings are near the edge of the base.
Army officials say the blast allowed a group of 10 insurgents, reportedly members of the Taliban, to enter the base carrying small arms and wearing explosive vests. U.S. forces killed all of the insurgents, but not before three of them were able to detonate their explosive vests.
None of the attackers were able to enter any buildings on base.
Capt. Chase Spears, a public affairs officer with the 4-25, says several of the insurgents responsible for the attack have been apprehended by NATO and Afghan forces in the week following the attack.
Spears says the buildings damaged in the attack have already reopened and repairs are ongoing.
Ellis was 22 years old and on his first deployment to Afghanistan. He was originally from Tokyo, but stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage and assigned to the 1st Squadron of the the 4-25’s 40th Cavalry Regiment. His next of kin have been notified of his death.
Five JBER soldiers have been killed in action since the 4-25 deployed from Alaska in December.
Editor’s note: Todd Walker reported from FOB Salerno during his special series, Assignment Afghanistan.
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