We call this indirect fire (IDF).
"They were already surprised, but when we started throwing indirect fire at them, they just disappeared".
Hansen B. Kirkpatrick, 19, is killed by indirect fire while outside his base in southern Afghanistan.
Most of the deaths were said to have been caused by aircraft crashes or indirect fire.
Enemy attacks include direct and indirect fire, like mortar attacks, as well as roadside bomb strikes.
However, she said there was reports of "ineffective indirect fire in the vicinity of the base".
Afghan officers organized no indirect fire support whatsoever in the week of fighting.
"There is a political component behind indirect fire attacks," the American military commander in Baghdad, Brig.
The Defense Department announced that they had died "from an indirect fire explosion," and gave their families uninformative explanations.
The American military said two American soldiers were killed by indirect fire, which usually means mortars, near Tikrit on Thursday.
A Marine spokesman attributed the deaths to "indirect fire," which typically refers to a mortar or rocket attack.
