2 U.S. soldiers killed in Afghan attack

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 5 (UPI) -- Taliban militants attacked a small U.S. base in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border Saturday, killing two soldiers.

Several other soldiers were wounded, the Los Angeles Times reported. The military said at least 10 insurgents were killed in a counter-attack.

The attack occurred as U.S. forces were carrying out an offensive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan, several hundred miles away. The base is in the area where a U.S. soldier disappeared this week, possibly captured by militants.

The militants were heavily armed, using a truck bomb as well as rockets and mortars, the newspaper said. A shell containing white phosphorus was fired during the attack, NATO forces said in a statement.

A spokesman for the provincial governor said the truck, loaded with explosives, detonated early as the attackers tried to send it through the gates of the base.