Kabul, Oct 8 (IANS): Four American outposts were attacked in simultaneous strikes in Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan Friday, on the 10th anniversary of the start of the Afghan war.

The insurgents struck the US positions with multiple rockets and, at one base, a suicide bomber who exploded his vehicle near the walls, reported the New York Times.

The outposts were near the border with Pakistan in Paktika province.

The coordinated attack did not cause much damage and wounded one American soldier.

But it underscored the frustrating complexities of a war entering its second decade. Most of the high-explosive 107-millimeter rockets striking the outposts were fired from just inside Afghanistan, suggesting that the attack had been prepared and launched from Pakistan, and as the American troops fired back, the rocket crew withdrew there.

It also highlighted the relative weakness of Afghan soldiers and police officers living and working on the American-built bases, the NYT said. As the attacks escalated, only the US military possessed the firepower, communications and skills to fight back in what developed into a long-range, artillery-and-rocket duel.

While the American soldiers organized and coordinated their part of the battle on the outpost here, the Afghan soldiers did not participate. Some simply sat and watched.