U.S. Military Says Attack at Afghan Base Targeted Top General

The U.S. military said Friday that an attack at a NATO base in Afghanistan this week targeted a top American commander, just as Defense Secretary Leon Panetta flew in for a visit.

After having downplayed the incident, officials released information that showed Wednesday's attack at British-run Camp Bastion in Helmand province was much more serious than initial accounts suggested.

The attacker was only minutes away from striking the area where Panetta's aircraft was due to park, officials said.

U.S. Major General Mark Gurganus, the new head of the NATO-led force's southwest regional command, was part of a VIP welcoming party on the tarmac when a hijacked vehicle hurtled towards them at high speed, Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters travelling with Panetta.

British General Stuart Skeates, deputy commander of the region, also was in the greeting committee, officials said.

"The vehicle was headed in their direction," said a senior defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The generals and others waiting to greet Panetta then got out of the way while the hijacked vehicle ended up in a ditch near a runway ramp.

The Afghan driver emerged from the car engulfed in flames before he was apprehended, later dying of severe burns early the next day at about 1:30 am local time, according to the official.

The attack occurred at about the same time the Pentagon chief's aircraft was landing shortly after 11:00 am, and the C-17 military transport plane was diverted to a different parking space after learning of the incident.

Security officers "found a gas can and a lighter" in the hijacked vehicle but no components for a homemade bomb, the defense official said.