BAGRAM AIR BASE, Aug 7: The US military said on Wednesday American soldiers had killed four men in eastern Afghanistan, but withdrew an earlier claim that they did so fighting their way out of an ambush.

Roger King, a spokesman at Bagram air base, said about 30 US special operations soldiers were conducting a vehicle-mounted, reconnaissance patrol near Asadabad, in Kunar province, on Tuesday when they came across five men in a vehicle.

After initially reporting that all five men fired at the American soldiers, US officials later said the firefight was precipitated when one of the men in the car levelled an AK-47 at the soldiers and pulled the trigger.

The rifle apparently misfired. “Only one person tried to fire his weapon, and it misfired,” said Christa D’Andrea, a spokesperson at Bagram.—Reuters