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U.S. Marines continue to patrol in Zegra, a the farming village in southern Kosovo  ALSO: NATO bombing: Wrong target warning never passed along Solana to Kosovars: 'Give peace a chance' FBI team in Kosovo begins war crime investigation  MESSAGE BOARD: Rebuilding Kosovo RELATED VIDEOS CNN's Carl Rochelle reports on the shooting involving U.S. Marines in Kosovo Windows Media 28K 80K After four months overseas, B-52 crews are returning home. CNN's Brian Cabell goes to Louisiana to see their welcome. (June 24) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

June 24, 1999
Web posted at: 10:28 a.m. EDT (1428 GMT)

In this story: 4,500 U.S. peacekeepers now; soon 7,000 B-52 homecoming RELATED STORIES, SITES

CERNICA, Yugoslavia (CNN) -- The men involved in a shootout with U.S. Marine peacekeepers manning a checkpoint in Kosovo were "Serb speaking," the Marines' commander told CNN Thursday. One gunman who opened fire was killed by the Marines.

Two other assailants were wounded and taken to Germany for medical treatment; a fourth was taken into custody. No Marines were hurt.

As an investigation continued, the nationality of the four men -- dressed in civilian clothes and armed with AK-47 weapons -- was not immediately clear. Nor was it known if anyone else was involved in Wednesday's incident about 6 p.m. (Noon EDT/1600 GMT) near the farming village of Zegra, south of Gnjilane.

The armed men were holed up in a building which was surrounded by Marines and helicopter gunships.

"This is the first time that someone has actually turned fire on one of our positions," said Col. Kenneth Glueck, commander of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Zegra, in the U.S. peacekeeping sector of southeastern Kosovo, is also where Marines had a standoff with about 100 armed Kosovo Liberation Army members last week, which ended with the rebels being forcibly disarmed.

In Cernica, a nearby village, Glueck told CNN the situation in the area remained tense but "we are trying to get things back to normal." He also said reports of mortar fire in the area had proven unfounded.

IMAGE GALLERY:Troops come home The airmen flew 175 missions over Yugoslavia before returning to Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, Louisiana PREVIOUS NEXT

The U.S. peacekeeping contingent in Kosovo will be fully in place by late July with 7,000 troops, according to Army Brig. Gen. John Craddock, the commander of American forces in Kosovo.

As of Wednesday, the number of Army soldiers and Marines there totaled about 4,500, Craddock told reporters at the Pentagon in a telephone interview from his headquarters near Urosevac in southern Kosovo.

The Army's 1st Infantry Division tank battalion will arrive in mid-July to mark officially the handover of U.S. peacekeeping responsibilities from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Craddock said.

By the third week in July, he said, the full complement of American peacekeepers should be in place in the U.S. sector.

The Americans are part of a 50,000-strong peacekeeping force commanded by NATO and charged with pacifying the area so that hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanian refugees can return to their homes.

As the peacekeeping operation gears up, the Air Force is winding down its involvement in the Balkans.

Glueck says Marines sought language help to end the confrontation 374K/22 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

The first of 11 B-52 bombers flew back to the United States on Wednesday from Fairford, England, where they had been based as they flew missions against Yugoslavia throughout the NATO air campaign.

Eight of them returned to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana; the other three flew to Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota.

In all, the Pentagon is sending back nearly 400 aircraft no longer needed now that the war is over.

The United States used more than 700 warplanes, some of them already in Europe, in the 78-day war. Now that it's over, the Pentagon is sending back nearly 400 aircraft no longer needed.

Correspondents Mike Boettcher, Carl Rochelle, Brian Cabell and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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