LONDON - The Taliban launched a ferocious assault on NATO's biggest base in Afghanistan to target either ace footballer David Beckham or British Foreign Secretary William Hague or Defence Secretary Liam Fox.

Taliban chiefs acted after learning that Beckham was in the war-torn country on a morale-boosting visit to British troops. They also discovered that Hague and Fox were meeting government officials on a separate trip.

The appearance of the trio was believed to have prompted Saturday's surprise attack on Kandahar airfield, the Daily Star reports.

"The Taliban could not resist the chance of taking out one of these VIPs. They weren't to know none of the three men were at Kandahar. It was one of the obvious places to have a go," a source said.

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