Kabul , Afghanistan ( CNN ) -- An investigation into an attack that killed eight U.S. troops in eastern Afghanistan last year said the combat outpost was an `` attractive target '' because protection improvements had n't been made and intelligence assets had been diverted . These were main points in the findings released Friday by the U.S. military into the probe of the October 3 attack on Combat Outpost Keating in the Kamdesh district of Nuristan province . The attack killed eight U.S. service members and wounded 22 others . Based on the recommendations in the investigation , Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal , the top coalition military commander in Afghanistan , `` took appropriate action regarding Army personnel involved . '' The report also praised soldiers of B Troop , 3rd Squadron , 61st Calvary for repelling the assault by a force of 300 militants . Commanders must regularly assess `` the value and vulnerabilities '' of combat outposts , said the report , which `` made several recommendations to improve coalition tactics . '' The base had been scheduled to be closed before the attack occurred , and `` needed force protection improvements ( which ) were not made '' because of the imminent closure . `` Critical intelligence , surveillance and reconnaissance assets which had been supporting COP Keating had been diverted to assist ongoing intense combat operations in other areas , '' the report said . It also said `` intelligence assessments had become desensitized to reports of massing enemy formations by previous reports that had proved false . '' All of these factors `` resulted in an attractive target for enemy fighters . '' The military says militants had been planning the attack for days , hiding mortars , rockets and heavy machine guns in the mountains . The assault started around dawn as bullets and rockets peppered the remote outpost October 3 and lasted for 12 hours , pinning down the exhausted troops . One soldier said afterward the insurgency was so fierce that the troops could n't get to their weapons to fire back . They called in air support to help thwart the militants . `` They were under heavy enemy contact , '' Sgt . Jayson Souter said . 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 . Chief Warrant Officer Ross Lewallen , an 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 interview . The report said the troops killed 150 enemy fighters and `` found that the soldiers and junior leaders fought heroically in repelling an enemy force five times their size . `` Members of B Troop upheld the highest standards of warrior ethics and professionalism and distinguished themselves with conspicuous gallantry , courage , and bravery under the heavy enemy fire that surrounded them . ''
Lack of protection has made combat outpost an ` ` attractive target '' Intelligence has also made the base vulnerable to a strike from militants . October 2013 attack on Combat outpost Keating lasted for 3 hours .