Additional reporting by Husbanullah Mutawakel, IOL Afghanistan Correspondent

BESHAWAR, February 4 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – A U.S. spy drone was shot down in the province of Khost, southeast of Afghanistan, the Pakistani news agency (NNI) reported Tuesday, February 4.

The unmanned Predator spy plane was brought down by anti-aircraft missile but no party has yet claimed responsibility for the incident.

NNI said the plane was taking some shots for the region, noting that the U.S. had not so far commented on the attack.

The U.S. army also said the U.S. military base of Salerno at the province came under two mortar attacks, but leaving neither material damage nor victims.

In the meantime, the U.S. troops stationing at the province have disarmed Afghan forces in the two districts of Khalam Khan and Gora, BBC radio said.

Speaking to IslamOnline, Afghan officials confirmed the news but came short of elaborating on the reasons behind disarming the Afghan troops which were trained by American military experts in Kabul two months ago.

They joined hands with American forces in patrolling the borders with Pakistan to prevent any infiltration by al-Qaeda or Taliban fighters.

Meanwhile, backed by Afghan soldiers, U.S. troops continued their hunt-downs in the mountainous areas of Afghanistan by scouring the caves 100 kilometers southeast the city of Kandahar.

Some 75 caves have been marked out so far, 49 cleared up and 12 destroyed, said a statement released by the U.S. Central Command in Afghanistan.

Over the past two weeks, the security situation in Afghanistan has been radically shaken with the U.S. troops and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) coming under fire.

On Friday, January 31, three unidentified persons fired three missiles at ISAF's military bases in Kabul.

In addition, a bomb went off in a U.N.-run demining center, causing material damage.

Moreover, the U.N. convoy was trapped in a firefight between an Afghan police patrol and people driving a truck loaded with explosives, leaving two Afghans killed.

Fresh Fighting Breaks Out in Kandahar

Meanwhile, Afghan troops came under fire Monday, February 4, during a disarmament program at Kardwey, 120 kilometers south of Kandahar, Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted Lieutenant Colonel Agha Lalai, a senior commander in southern Kandahar province, as saying.

"About 200 troops went there yesterday (Monday) to carry out disarmament. They came under fire and we sent around 150 more men today," Lalai said.

Lalai said fighting was continuing Tuesday, adding that the extremists were remnants of the al-Qaeda network and the former Taliban regime, which once counted Kandahar as its stronghold.

"After two decades of fighting in the country, it is very difficult to solve all the problems in one or two years.

"There are Taliban still in this area, but at least now we are able to send the troops to tackle them," he said.

The military official further said that up to 300 Afghan soldiers are hunting down those alleged fighters in Kandahar.

The fighting comes a week after heavy fighting around 80 kilometers southeast of Kandahar between U.S.-led troops and fighters resulted in the deaths of at least 18 fighters.