US special forces raided two compounds in Afghanistan believed to hold Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders, killing more than a dozen people and capturing 27 others.
US defence officials said a US commando was lightly wounded in the ankle.
Air Force General Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the raid was launched in the mountains north of Kandahar, triggering an intense firefight.
"Once the compound was raided, we found it was mostly of a Taliban nature," he said.
"We still have eyes on the targets there and there is a potential for further action," he added.
A US defence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said more than a dozen fighters were killed in the raid.
Elsewhere, US warplanes heavily bombed a suspected al-Qaeda base at Chargoti Ghar in the eastern Afghan province of Khost, the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported.
Quoting residents from the Pakistani border town of Ali Zai in northwestern Parachinar district, the report said the bombs fell close to the border.
Flames and billowing dust could be seen rising from the bombed site, the witnesses said, but they had no knowledge of any casualties.
Chargoti Ghar was a base for Arab fighters, but there had been no recent sign of an al-Qaeda presence in the area, the Pakistan-based news service said.
It was the second reported raid in Khost in 10 days.
On January 14th, the Pentagon said bombers had demolished a labyrinth of caves at Zhawar in Khost, to close cave entrances and buildings and prevent al-Qaeda fighters from returning to the once thriving base.
AFP