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Roger, the situation is more complex.
Once a gun battle has started, the enemy has to be located. Incoming fire could come from somewhere or from distant artillery or mortars. There could be friendly soldiers in the vicinity, and indeed a target has to be checked to make sure they are neither friendly soldiers nor civilians.
The type of warfare waged by the Taliban is extremely difficult to combat, as they operate in small numbers, and often concealed, and not necessarily in a distinctive uniform. Oftentimes they use roadside bombs.
Sometimes they are among the Afghan police, and this is known as green on blue attacks.
For the Afghans, a war can last 10 years, or 20 years, and they will tend to avoid anything that goes beyond guerrilla warfare when fighting a large and sophisticated army. They will always replenish their numbers with fresh recruits, and use them sparingly.
The Afghan Taliban are reputed to be in contact with the Pakistani secret service, it has been written in the Press, and from somewhere they receive their arms and explosives and devices. They can rely on retreat zones in northern Pakistan, where the local people are similar to the Pashtun in language, culture and traditions.
The reasons why the war in Afghanistan can not be won militarily are not because of the British army's rules of engagement, but because the Coalition Government, in 2010, didn't have the guts to realise the fact that T. Blair sent Britain's troops into a sinking-sand trap.
Unfortunately, we will see more of our soldiers coming back dead from Afghanistan, or wounded. Usually the Press mentions those who have been killed, not the wounded. I did write 2 and a half years ago that we should tell Liam Fox where to get off, when he said that British soldiers must stay in Afghanistan.