Taliban fighter who survived 2012 attack sentenced to death

KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- The sole surviving perpetrator of an insurgent assault on a British airfield two years ago was sentenced to death by an Afghan court, the U.S. Marine Corps said.

Maj. John Caldwell, a spokesman for the Marine Corps, told The Washington Post that the fighter, Mohammed Nazeer, 24, was found guilty of violating Afghan law and was given a death sentence by an appellate court in early July.

Nazeer's case is still uncertain, however, since it is currently standing by for a final review by the Afghan Supreme Court. The Marine Corps just received information about Nazeer's sentence on Sept. 10.

The assault occurred exactly two years ago, on Sept. 14, 2012, when Nazeer and 14 other Taliban dressed in U.S. Army uniforms and stormed Camp Bastion, a British airfield near Camp Leatherneck, a U.S. Marine base. Using automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, the insurgents split into three teams of five and were able to destroy six AV-8B Harrier jets and kill two Marines, including a Lieutenant Colonel who commanded the Harrier squadron.

The battle began at 10 p.m. and raged for hours before U.S. forces were able to secure the area. Nazeer, the commander of the attack, was wounded in the fighting and captured. He was the only insurgent to survive.

After a probe into the incident, former Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos forced two generals into retirement for not taking adequate security measures to defend Camp Bastion.

Another Marine officer received a Silver Star for organizing a hasty counter-attack that night.