American bombers pound Afghanistan villages

US planes pounded several areas in Afghanistan's eastern province of Kunar today after a base came under rocket attack.

US planes pounded several areas in Afghanistan's eastern province of Kunar today after a base came under rocket attack.

The pre-dawn raid caused minor damage to mud-built houses at the foot of mountains in Narang district, but there were no casualties, villagers said.

Several other bombs were dropped on a location nearby from where militants are suspected to have fired at least two rockets on a US-led military base near a river bed, officials said.

It is not known if the rockets caused any damage or casualties.

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Officials blamed remnants of Taliban and militant allies loyal to al Qaeda and Mr Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of an Islamic party, for firing the rockets.

Kunar lies near the border with Pakistan where US bases frequently come under fire. Several US soldiers were killed and wounded last year by explosions blamed on the Taliban.

In the neighboring province of Nangarhar, at least four children were wounded by a mine placed near a government office Saturday, a senior police official said.

And several rockets hit another governmental building in a separate district of Nangarhar, causing some damages but without hurting anyone, he added.

He blamed the Taliban for the two attacks in Nangarhar.

The Islamic hard-liners are blamed for the recent violence in which more than 500 people including guerrillas, civilians, aid workers, Afghan troops and more than a dozen soldiers from the US-led army have been killed.