The insurgents attacked the base in Jalalabad, which is one of the largest military bases in the country, but were beaten back after a two hour fire fight.

Up to eight rebels were killed in the assault on the base and adjoining airport, according to local military officials.

No Nato troops or Afghan forces were hurt.

The attack was the second at the site this year and the latest in a series of audacious but unsuccessful attacks on the coalition’s super bases.

Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban insurgent movement, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying 14 fighters had been involved and some had entered the airport.

Military sources said an Afghan army checkpoint outside the base, 75 miles east of Kabul, had been attacked around 5.30am (1am GMT).

A spokesman for Nato forces in Afghanistan said the base in Nangahar province had been hit by “small arms fire from an unknown number of insurgents”.

American and Afghan troops fought back the attackers and none had entered the airport, he said.

“According to initial reports, eight insurgents were killed by the combined force. One was wearing a suicide vest.”

Witnesses said the attackers had been dressed in Afghan army uniforms, armed with rocket propelled grenade launchers and AK-47 assault rifles.

Militants have this year also attacked Bagram and Kandahar airbases – the biggest Nato installations in Afghanistan.

None of the attacks have managed to breach defences, but the assaults have been seen by many Afghans as continuing evidence of the insurgency’s stubborn grip in the country.

In a separate attack, in the northern province of Kunduz province Saturday, a bomb hidden in a motorbike killed seven people when it exploded in Imam Sahib district.