KABUL, Afghanistan – Militants armed with rockets and machine-guns ambushed U.S. Marines patrolling in eastern Afghanistan (search), injuring two of the American troops, the military said Sunday.
The patrol came under attack on Saturday in an area north of the city of Jalalabad (search) and close to the Pakistani border, the U.S. military said. The assailants quickly retreated, it said.
"The unit reported receiving rocket-propelled grenade, automatic weapons and machine-gun fire," the military said in a statement. "Both Marines received shrapnel wounds to the shoulder and both were treated at the scene before continuing with their mission."
U.S. and Afghan government troops clash regularly with militants in southern and eastern Afghanistan, where Taliban-led rebels have maintained a stubborn insurgency since the ouster of the hardline regime in 2001.
While attacks have declined in recent months, Taliban (search) officials have vowed to step up their campaign with the melt of the winter snow, despite high-profile peace overtures from U.S. commanders and Afghan leaders.
The United States has 17,000 troops in Afghanistan.
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