Yuma squadron attacked in Afghanistan returning

YUMA, AZ - The first members of a Yuma-based U.S. Marine Corps squadron have returned home a week after losing their commander and six planes in an attack in Afghanistan.

Marine Corps Air Station spokeswoman Capt. Staci Reidinger says about 30 Marines arrived in Yuma Saturday. They are among more than 200 members of Marine Attack Squadron 211 who have been in Afghanistan for six months and were previously set for return.

The squadron's commander and a sergeant were killed in a Sept. 15 insurgent attack on Camp Bastion in southern Afghanistan that destroyed six Harrier jets. Two others were damaged.

The former commander of another Yuma squadron is already in Afghanistan to replace Lt. Col. Christopher K. Raible.

The rest of the squadron is set to return within two months.