US Marine helicopter gunships attacked an armoured convoy tonight near the new base the Americans have created in the Afghan desert to press their war on terrorism.
The Cobra gunships destroyed some of the 15 vehicles in the column after it was spotted by "fast-moving aircraft," said US Marine Captain David Romley.
He indicated the attack was still going on as he spoke shortly before midnight in Afghanistan.
He would not give any details about the location of the convoy or the direction in which it was moving, except to say it was "in the vicinity of this base".
Nor did he identify the "troops" who were attacked by the Marine gunships, but the Americans' new desert base put them within striking distance of Kandahar, home of the Taliban militia that has sheltered Osama bin Laden.
US marines have set up a southern Afghan bridgehead to take the war in that country to a crucial new phase.
Unopposed, hundreds of the soliders ferried in by helicopter overnight took an airstrip near Kandahar in striking distance of the Taliban's spiritual home and final redoubt.
"We are going to support the Afghan people's effort to free themselves of the terrorists and the people who support terrorists," said Gen James Mattis on the USS Peleliu, the marines' assault ship in the Arabian Sea.
Up to 1,000 marines, with armour and supplies, are expected to be flown in rapidly. Unmanned spyplanes, remote-sensing technology and US special forces who have been on the ground are now thought to be ready to hunt down Osama bin Laden and the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar.
They and the Northern Alliance suspect he is still in the shrinking Kandahar area, the only region the Taliban still controls after the loss of Kunduz in the north.
On the diplomatic front, rival Afghan factions gathered in Germany for UN-sponsored talks on a new administration due to begin tomorrow. The Taliban was not invited.