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ONE News reporter Michael Parkin says it was a shock to come under fire while filming a story in Afghanistan.
He and ONE News cameraman Blair Martin were filming a
bomb-clearing mission near the town of Khost on the Pakistan border
when they became the target of enemy bullets.
Parkin and Martin had joined a New Zealand patrol sent out to
detonate bombs when they came under small arms fire and mortar
rounds, some falling only 250 metres away.
The platoon had already detonated three improvised explosive devices (IEDs), one damaging a truck, and were en route back to base in Khost when the attack occurred.
"At a personal level, yes, (the attack did) come as a bit of a shock. But you know, they're incredibly inaccurate, it (didn't) hit the vehicle," says Parkin.
Prime Minister John Key has been briefed by the Defence Force which describes the attack as sporadic and ineffective.
"No-one was hurt, which is good news, but I guess it demonstrates that Afghanistan is a dangerous place," Key says.
The ONE News crew says their platoon did not return fire and before they could find the insurgents, they had disappeared.
The TVNZ crew are now travelling to Bagram before flying to Kandahar on the next stage of their journey.
