Coalition planes dropped laser-guided bombs in central Afghanistan after US special forces came under attack from machinegun fire and rocket grenades, the US military said today.
The planes targeted three caves and at least five armed men in the Baghran valley after the soldiers were attacked yesterday morning, a US military spokesman at Bagram, north of Kabul, said.
"Close air support was requested and coalition F-16s dropped 5 GBU-12s [bombs] and fired more than 100 rounds of ammunition," he told a news briefing. He said no US soldiers were hurt.
The Dutch defence ministry said the attackers fled after a pair of Dutch F-16s bombed the area, which is in the central province of Uruzgan.
A report on the ministry's website said US A-10 aircraft were called in to help a US convoy after it came under attack from heavy machinegun fire and grenades. It said the convoy had reached its destination under the protection of a US B-1 bomber.
The US statement also said three rockets were fired at a US base in the Khost area in southeastern Afghanistan last night. There were no casualties.