United States' Marines tracked down a band of insurgents in eastern Afghanistan and sparked a battle that left 23 militants and two American soldiers dead, said the US military on Monday. American warplanes also joined the five-hour clash with 25 insurgents on Sunday in Laghman. Getting intelligence about the rebels' whereabouts, US Marines "located the insurgents and an engagement ensued," said a US military statement, adding that two Marines were also killed. The deceased's names were withheld pending notification of the next-of-kin. A second statement said, "Two insurgents were confirmed killed and another 21 were suspected to be dead." There was no word about the wounded from either side. The military said the Marines initially came under attack with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades from insurgents who split into two groups, one of which fled to a village and the other to a cave on a nearby ridge. The two Marines died while clearing the cave after A-10 ground attack planes pounded the militants inside, said the statement. It didn't explain further. Militants opposed to the US-backed government of President Hamid Karzai have made good on pledges to ramp up their three-year-old insurgency after the melt of the winter's snow, carrying out a string of assaults and bombings that have killed dozens of Afghan and US troops and g