Washington, Nov 6 : An internal US military report has reportedly found that the deadly attack on a US outpost in eastern Afghanistan in July was executed with the support of local police, government leaders and villagers.

In the attack launched on July 12 by about 200 insurgents, as many as nine US troops were killed, and 27 wounded. At least 52 of the attackers were killed and another 45 wounded, the report said.

It also said the incident was an example of repeated problems in the volatile mountain region where the local population was offering “passive and active support” to the insurgents, which also had infiltrated the country’s security forces, reported the Dawn.

Completed on August 13, the report confirmed many details previously released to the public about the incident, including suspicions that villagers were complicit in the attack.

The assault did not come without warning. Coalition forces had received numerous intelligence reports that an attack on the base was planned, but such threats are not unusual in that volatile region along the Pakistan border. What was not expected, however, “was the collusion that took place” between the Afghan National Police chief and the insurgents, the Dawn quoted the report as saying.

Troops also did not see that citizens from nearby Wanat began leaving the village that evening. “Post-attack intelligence indicates that the district police chief and district governor were complicit in supporting the ... attack,” said the report, which was compiled by leaders in the US Army unit that came under assault.

The report also noted that enemy forces fired on troops from within the homes of villagers and from the local mosque, adding that “they could not have achieved surprise without at least the passive support of the villagers”. (ANI)