U.S. Fired on in Afghanistan, Fighting Near Bagram
Roger King said troops were fired upon while they were searching a compound southwest of Gardez town in an early morning operation following an intelligence report. He said there were no casualties on either side.
"Enemy forces were in a compound firing at coalition forces with small arms and machine guns," King told a news briefing.
"Close air support was requested but not used." he said "a number of persons" were detained but had no further details.
King also said fighting flared up on Thursday between rival Afghan factions within 500-700 meters (yards) of the perimeter of Bagram Air Base, which involved mortar or rocket-propelled grenade fire as well as small arms, Reuters said.
King, speaking at the U.S. military's Afghan headquarters at Bagram just north of Kabul, said coalition forces fired illumination rounds and U.S. Apache helicopters were sent to observe, whereupon the fighting ceased.
He said none of the firing had been directed at the air base.
U.S. forces are in Afghanistan pursuing remnants of the former Taleban regime and the Al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden blamed for the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
King also said special forces went to observe fighting near the southwestern city of Kandahar earlier this week and were forced to call in close air support to enable them to evacuate when it escalated. King said the fighting had involved troops of the governor of Kandahar and "other Afghan factions", but added: "We still do not have a firm grasp of who was involved."
The commander of the Kandahar provincial forces said on Wednesday three government soldiers and five suspected Taleban or allied rebel fighters were killed in fighting the previous day north of Kandahar town.
Southeast of Kandahar, U.S. soldiers continued to clear caves in a complex bombed and rocketed by coalition forces early last week and thought to be a base of fighters loyal to renegade warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.