Bastion Bomber | St Albans School News Report

Last night, at a ‘secure’ military base in the heart of Afghanistan, an assassination attempt was made on the US Defence Secretary, Leon Panetta. The attack came just a few minutes after Mr Panetta had touched down in Camp Bastion, the main British military base in Afghanistan. The Defence Secretary got away from the car bomb without any harm being done to himself.

Just as Mr Panetta was being hurried away from his plane, a 4×4 vehicle sped onto the runway. However things got worse, as when the car was around 75 meters away, it burst into flames. Luckily for Panetta the driver could not stay in control whilst he was engulfed in flames and ended up crashing the burning car into a ditch alongside the runway. He was removed from the burnt-out wreck by gunpoint, however he was in no fit state to resist capture. He required immediate medical treatment for severe burns he had acquired from being in the inferno.Other than the terrorist himself, only one person was injured during the attack. He was a coalition service member who received minor injuries after he attempted to stop the four-wheel-drive vehicle.

The attack has raised a number of questions over how something like this could happen in an area that should be one of the most secure areas in the whole of Afghanistan.When asked about the matter, the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul said: “We are aware of a stolen vhicle incident today at Camp Bastion, which injured one coalition service member. The alleged perpetrator was apprehended by base security personnel. We are currently investigating to determine more facts.”

More questions have been asked, over how the driver even knew of Mr Panetta visit to the camp, as it was supposed to be kept a secret, for exactly the reasons that came to light. He was in Afganistan to give a talk to the solders over the murder of 16 civilians, by an American serviceman, that had provoked outcry across the nation.

The driver has been reported to have been a worker in the vast complex that contains Camp Bastion and an American base, Camp Leatherneck. That is how it is believed he managed to get past the tight security surrounding the base. The word is that he was spotted stealing a pick-up truck from within the base and attempts were made to stop him. However these were unsuccessful and he got away with the vehicle. It has been confirmed that this vehicle was the one which was used during the attack on Mr Panetta.

After the attack, the base went into ‘lockdown’ and all personnel inside were made to give in all weapons that they had access to. The events yeserday are sure to trigger a major re-think over how security is managed in the many British military bases in the Afghanistan.