MPs Criticize British Military over Fatal Taliban Attack

British lawmakers said military commanders had been complacent in a deadly 2012 Taliban attack on their base in Afghanistan, in which two U.S. marines were killed.

The House of Commons Defense Committee, a cross-party panel of MPs, said in a report published Wednesday that protection measures around the perimeter of Camp Bastion had been "inadequate".

Their report said "insufficient attention" had been paid to defending the sprawling base in the southern Helmand province.

The assault on Camp Bastion in September 2012 was one of the most brazen in Afghanistan by the hardline Taliban insurgents.

Fifteen Taliban commandos, armed with suicide vests, guns and rockets and wearing U.S. uniforms, breached the perimeter wall. Fourteen were killed and the surviving insurgent was captured.

The U.S. Camp Leatherneck is within the complex. Two US marines were killed, eight others wounded and six U.S. Harrier fighter jets were destroyed with grenades.

The U.S. Marine Corps commandant sacked two generals in October last year in response to the attack.

Britain's Prince Harry, fourth in line to the throne, was at the base at the time, serving as an army attack helicopter pilot. He was about two kilometers (over one mile) away and was moved to a guarded location as the battle unfolded.

"The arrangements for manning of the guard towers around the perimeter of Camp Bastion were exposed by the attack as inadequate," the MPs' report said.

It said the decision not to man one particular tower "contributed directly to the failure to detect the insurgents at an early stage which might have limited the impact of their assault".

"Insufficient attention was given to the fundamental requirement of defending Camp Bastion from external assault.

"We believe that this was complacent.

"Given that the attack took place in the British sector of the camp, British commanders must bear a degree of responsibility for these systemic failures and associated reputational damage."

The report said Britain's Ministry of Defense had been "obstructive and unhelpful" as the lawmakers tried to establish the facts.

Chairman James Arbuthnot said the committee was satisfied that, as far as possible, the vulnerabilities which led to the attack had been addressed.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said lessons had been learned.

"Commanders in the field have to prioritize resources against potential threats in theater and at the time a threat to Camp Bastion was considered to be lower than to other International Security Assistance Force assets in Helmand," he said.

"UK commanders have identified and acted upon all lessons following the attack."

Britain has around 5,200 troops in Afghanistan, based at Bastion. All foreign combat forces are being withdrawn by the end of the year.