U.S. troops with Company B, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment return fire from a guard tower after Taliban fighters attack their outpost near the village of Ashoque in Zhari district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan. The gunfire broke out in the early morning, and soldiers who had just gotten off guard duty and were bedding down to sleep scrambled straight from their cots into their battle gear. Dec. 3, 2009. DREW BROWN/STARS AND STRIPES