US commando shot in Afghan ambush

A US commando has been shot in the leg during an ambush in western Afghanistan, a military spokesman said today.

The special forces soldier was injured when his reconnaissance team came under small-arms fire 23 miles southeast of Shindand town.

The team returned fire and then called for a medical evacuation. No arrests were made, said Colonel Roger King at Bagram air base near Kabul.

The wounded soldier was in a stable condition at the US base in Kandahar.

Meanwhile, four weapons caches were found yesterday, including one near the eastern city of Jalalabad that contained 20 rifles, machine gun bullets, anti-personnel mines and plastic explosives.

A tip from a villager near the central town of Bamyan led special forces to uncover another cache that included 245 107mm rockets, 230 82mm mortar rounds, 6,000 machine gun bullets, 650 82mm anti-tank rifle rounds and 160mm mortar rounds. The cache was destroyed.