BAGRAM
AIR BASE, Afghanistan, September 16 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) -
Ten rockets were fired at two U.S. bases in the eastern city of Khost
overnight Monday, September 16, as two U.S. special forces soldiers were
injured by an explosive device in eastern Afghanistan, news agencies
reported.
There
were no immediate reports of casualties resulting from the rocket
attacks, the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) said.
U.S.
spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Roger King said the explosion, which
injured the soldiers occurred Sunday, September 15, in Kunar province
between Assadabad and Jalalabad. A second device was found nearby,
reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"Two
soldiers were medically evacuated by helicopters, one for wounds and one
for possible hearing loss," King said, adding one was already back
on duty.
He
gave no details of the operation in which the two were taking part.
Unconfirmed
reports say fugitive former Afghani Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
is in Kunar.
Last
week, Hekmatyar called for Jihad (holy struggle) to expel U.S.
invading forces from Afghanistan, according to the AIP. However, he
denied involvement in a massive car bomb blast in Kabul on September 5.
King
also said U.S. troops operating in the eastern province of Khost
recovered a cache of weapons including several hundred 107mm rockets and
one launcher.
U.S.
bases in Khost and neighboring provinces regularly come under rocket
attack but there are few casualties.
The
AIP said the latest rocket attacks on Khost airport and Sarabagh were
the most intense since U.S. forces were deployed in the area. It said it
was not known whether the rockets landed inside or outside the two
bases.
American
helicopters arrived and fired flares, the agency said.
Almost
1,000 U.S. troops were deployed in nearby Paktia province as part of
Operation Champion Strike, the latest offensive against Al-Qaeda and
Taliban resistance diehards thought to be holed up in the area.
The
almost daily attacks against the U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the regular
explosions in Kabul and other major cities, as well as several attempts
on the life of Afghani President Hamid Karzai and other senior officials
are seen as a clear sign the U.S. campaign against Afghanistan is far
from over.