The US military said Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters attacked coalition forces in eastern Afghanistan early today.
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A US soldier at the base in Afghanistan's eastern Khost Province Photo: Reuters
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One US soldier was in a stable condition after being shot in the arm in the overnight attack at an airfield at Khost near the eastern border with Pakistan, US Central Command in Tampa, Florida, said.
Khost and the province of the same name borders the area where for three weeks the biggest ground battle of the Afghan war was fought in the rugged mountain terrain around the Shahi Kot Valley in Paktia province.
Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported three Afghan allied soldiers were killed and eight wounded, but this could not be independently confirmed.
US army spokesman Major Bryan Hilferty said the attack started at about midnight and lasted several hours.
A Pentagon spokeswoman said an AC-130 gunship was quickly flown to the scene to respond to the attack.
A small number of US troops were hurt yesterday when an MH-53 special forces helicopter in which they were riding made a hard landing in southern Afghanistan, US defence officials said.
The cause of the accident was not known but it was not the result of hostile fire, US Central Command said.