( CNN ) -- The assault began at dawn , as bullets and rockets peppered the remote outpost in eastern Afghanistan . Lt. Cason Shrode said that in less than two minutes , his team 's generator was hit and they were out of power . The insurgency was so fierce , according to one soldier , that the troops could n't get to their mortars to fire back . `` They were under heavy enemy contact , '' Sgt . Jayson Souter said , describing the October 3 attack that pinned his comrades at Combat Outpost Keating , a remote base in Nuristan province . Four servicemen -- Souter , a fellow soldier , an Apache helicopter pilot , and a gunner -- talked to a military reporter about their roles during the Keating attack in an interview posted by the Department of Defense on Facebook and NATO 's International Security Assistance Force YouTube Channel . The United States says about 200 insurgents -- mostly local fighters , with some Taliban organizers and leaders -- had been planning the attack for days , hiding mortars , rockets and heavy machine guns in the mountains . Watch more about their story » . The battle started early on October 3 and lasted for 12 hours . At the end , eight American soldiers and more than 100 militants were killed and buildings at the outpost were destroyed . Fire support officer 1st Lt. Cason Shrode said the initial round `` did n't seem like anything out of the ordinary . '' There was a lull and then there was a heavy attack . `` We started receiving a heavy volley of fire . Probably 90 seconds into the fight they ended up hitting one of our generators so we lost all power , '' Shrode said in the interview posted online by the Defense Department . `` At that point I knew that this was something bigger than normal . '' Troops called in air support . Helicopter gunner Chad Bardwell said he had to confirm the fighters he saw on ridgelines were the enemy because he had never seen such a large group of insurgents . `` We tried to stop them as they were coming down the hill . ... We were taking fire pretty much the entire day , '' he said in the Defense Department interview . Chief Warrant Officer Ross Lewallen , the Apache pilot , said a few aircraft were damaged in what was a `` time-consuming endeavor '' governed by tough terrain . He said the morning battle was `` significant , '' but later troops were able to identify targets and eliminate larger weapons . `` One of the primary reasons for the fight taking so long is that it is an extreme terrain , '' he said in the same interview . Lewallen said the valley sits beneath mountains to the west and north . `` There 's a lot of cover so you really ca n't detect the enemy until they start moving again , '' he said , adding that it was tough for medical evacuation aircraft to land `` because we were still trying to control '' the outpost . The intense assault on Keating led to fires . There were five main buildings at the post and four of them burned . Soldiers eventually ended up going into one building . `` The next morning it was pretty much ash besides that one building . I mean that 's the way to describe it . Most of it had burned down . So we were pretty much at one building and the rest was just a shadow of what it used to be , '' Shrode said in the Defense Department interview . Lewallen said what came together was `` air-ground integration . '' `` All the training we 've done before deploying here ; it really clicked that day , '' he said in the interview . `` We started realizing that the guys on the ground knew what they needed to tell us to get the job done . It made things that much easier . '' He disputed media reports suggesting that there were n't enough weapons and troops . He said 40 minutes into the fight , air power arrived . `` We had everything we needed . It was just a big attack with a lot of people . Bad things happen -- but I think we did well , under the circumstances . '' Reflecting on the fight , Souter said , `` Everybody basically came together and in the mix of it all , they were donating blood for the wounded that we had . They all pulled together to make sure that we can pull our boys out of this . ''
Soldiers describe July 3 attack at a remote base in Nuristan province . Their account blocked by the Department of Defense on Facebook and YouTube . U.S. : Battle lasted 12 hours and 5 American soldiers were killed .