U.S. troops kill four in firefight in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan -- 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.

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.

The U.S. patrol was searching out guerrilla fighters, he said.

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.

Missiles recovered

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.

Insurgents have been stepping up attacks since the start of spring in the south and east of the country.

On Saturday, a suicide bomber killed four German peacekeepers and wounded 19 others when he drove an explosives-laden car alongside a bus carrying the peacekeepers. One Afghan was also killed and up to 10 wounded in the same attack.

About 11,500 coalition troops are in Afghanistan conducting operations to route out small groups of Taliban and al-Qaida guerrillas and their allies, who authorities say are using bases in Pakistan to launch cross-border attacks. The Taliban were overthrown in a U.S.-led war in 2001.