US forces have attacked a convoy in Afghanistan hours after several hundred troops set up a base at an airstrip within spitting distance of the last bastion of the fundamentalist militia in southern Afghanistan.
About 500 Marines on the ground in Afghanistan called in Cobra attack helicopters to fire on
a convoy of around 15 vehicles after it was seen heading towards their airstrip.
Captain David Romley did not say whether the convoy belonged to the Taleban.
The convoy included tanks and BMPs which are armoured combat vehicles on treads, mounted with guns and capable of carrying at least a dozen people, the Associated Press reported.
Several vehicles were destroyed but the clash did not affect the US buildup, with planes and helicopters arriving at regular intervals.
The attack was the Marines' first known action since capturing the airstrip, which local Afghans said was named Dolangi, about 90 km southwest of Kandahar.
The strip was rebuilt and used by Osama bin Laden and was once a sporting club at which Saudi Arabia's princes arrived to hunt animals with the Taleban.
The locals said the personal helicopter of Taleban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar had been parked at the strip only a few days ago.
