The US military said today it had detained nine suspects after a series of rocket attacks in eastern Afghanistan.
Soldiers on routine patrol near the eastern town of Khost discovered a site, which had been used to launch rockets in the past, the military said.
"The patrol pursued and detained four individuals, two of whom were armed," the army said in a statement at its Afghan headquarters at Bagram air base. "In a follow-on search operation, five more suspects were detained and weapons and munitions were confiscated."
Rockets are fired at US bases in eastern Afghanistan almost on a daily basis, but rarely cause any injuries or damage. Two rockets were fired at a base near Khost on Christmas Day and one fired at a base near the village of Shkin on Christmas Eve.
There are around 8,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan hunting for members of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network and leaders of the former Taliban regime that gave them shelter in the country.