Insurgents in eastern Afghanistan opened fire Tuesday on patrolling U.S. forces, setting off a firefight that left four attackers dead, a military spokesman said. No U.S. casualties were reported. The U.S. troops came under attack before dawn near Shkin, a volatile town in Paktika province near the Pakistan border, the spokesman, Col. Rodney Davis, said from Bagram Air Base. U.S. soldiers fired four artillery shells along with several illumination rounds during a three-hour exchange, Davis said.
"Take that,infidel! Hey, who turned on the lights?" KABOOM!
After an initial gunfight, "coalition forces then conducted a search of the contact site and a nearby compound," Davis said. "They found three enemy killed in action and engaged a fourth who attempted to throw a hand-grenade at coalition forces, killing him." It was not known how large the group of insurgents was. They were armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, Davis said.
| Hope they made that bastard eat his grenade... |
In a separate incident on Monday, also near Shkin, unidentified attackers fired four rocket-propelled grenades at an Afghan military checkpoint on the Pakistan border. No casualties or damage were reported, Davis said.
| No matter how much practice they get, Hek's boyz can't seem to get that down... |
Meanwhile, near Asadabad, another town to the northwest in eastern Kunar province, U.S. special operations forces recovered three Blowpipe optically guided, shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile systems. It was not clear who it had belonged to or where exactly it was found.
Blowpipe is a older model British SAM replaced by the Javelin. 
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