Afghan rebels killed in battle with US forces

US forces killed more than 12 insurgents in a clash in south-eastern Afghanistan, the military said today.

The rebels died on Tuesday when US troops and warplane scrambled after a rocket attack on an American base in Khost province, close to the Pakistani border, a military statement said.

“They shot at us with rockets and we were responded with artillery, fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft,” said Major J Mendoza, a US Army official based in Khost. “More than a dozen insurgents were killed.”

No one was hurt in the initial rocket attack, it said.