U.S. forces kill 4 in Afghan gunfight

U.S. Special Forces are continuing their hunt for al Qaeda and Taliban remnants

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (CNN) -- U.S. Special Forces have killed four Afghans and injured a fifth in eastern Afghanistan after one of them attempted to open fire, a coalition spokesman said Wednesday.

"No U.S. personnel or civilians were killed or injured," Col. Roger King said of the gunfight, which occurred Tuesday.

One of the Afghans aimed his weapon toward the U.S. forces' vehicle and pulled the trigger, but the weapon malfunctioned and did not fire, King said.

The U.S. Special Forces involved in Tuesday's clash were conducting a reconnaissance patrol in Kunar Province north of Asadabad.

After returning fire, the U.S. forces searched the gunmen's vehicle and found a large amount of currency.

U.S. Special Forces patrolling the same area Monday came under small arms fire and returned fire, killing two gunmen, according to a U.S. military spokesman.

There were no U.S. casualties in either attack.

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In what appeared to be a report on the same incident, the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press reported that the four Afghans killed by the U.S. forces were relatives of a prominent local commander, identified as Matiullah.

That report could not be confirmed.

Special Forces operations have been continuing across Afghanistan in an effort to flush out remnants of the Taliban and al Qaeda members following the collapse of Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

'Al Qaeda' attack

News of the shootout comes as the Afghan military reported about a dozen people were killed in a firefight at a base near Kabul Wednesday.

However, the Afghan government has given differing versions of the attack, who launched it and why.

"Twelve Pakistani and Arabs -- definitely al Qaeda -- together attacked the base in Bagrami [sic] while most of our soldiers were sleeping," Bismullah Khan, a high-ranking Afghan Defense Department official, said of the early morning attack.

"Three of our soldiers were killed and three were injured," he added.

Khan said "eight to 11 of the al Qaeda attackers were killed on the spot." He believed more than 15 attackers were involved.

However, an Afghan Interior Department official told CNN that the attackers were would-be thieves, intending to steal ancient sculptures from a hill near the military base.

"Two of the guards were killed as well as eight to 10 of the thieves," said Alisha, secretary to the Interior Minister.

-- CNN's John Raedler and Jabar Amini at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan contributed to this report