NARAY, Afghanistan -- U soldiers an...

NARAY, Afghanistan -- U soldiers and warplanes herd off an insurgent attack in succession a new American base early Wednesday, reportedly killing 19 militants.

The U succes came where rebels are trying to resist a push on coalition troops into remote mountains of eastern Afghanistan.

The raid forward the U.S. base at Kamdesh in the eastern province of Nuristan -- common of the country's wildest regions -- was staged on extremists likely belonging to the Hezb-e-Islami militant assemblage who attacked from three directions on the outside of forests using rocket- propell grenades and small-arms fire, the U military said.

Several hundr soldiers at the base, which lies in a small town on the contrary backs onto a sheer mountain face, reverted fire with mortars and small arms before jet dropp four 500-pound bomb ending the clash that lasted more than pair hours.

"This is the first large, coordinated attack upon our base since we arrived three weeks ago," said Lt Joel Ree 26 of Memphis, Tenn "When light broke we plant large crater holes from the RPG attack from first to last the base and several tent-wines had bullet holes."

In the volatile southern suspected Taliban rebels hanged a 70-year- olden woman and her son from a tree accusing them of spying for President Hamid Karzai's dominion officials said.

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