4 NATO soldiers killed in Afghanistan
KABUL — A NATO spokesman says four of the alliance’s soldiers have been killed in a roadside bombing in northern Afghanistan.
Lt. Commander Chris Hall says the incident happened on Monday. He did not identify the victims’ nationalities.
The governor of northern Kunduz province says the attack targeted American soldiers traveling in two armored vehicles.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide car bomber struck early Monday outside the main NATO base in southern Afghanistan, killing two civilians and wounding 14 other people, as U.S. Marines pressed a major anti-Taliban offensive in a neighboring province.
The bomber blew himself up near the gates of Kandahar Airfield, said Gen. Sher Mohammad Zazai, the top military commander for southern Afghanistan. Those wounded included 12 civilians and two Afghan soldiers, Zazai said. Initially police said four soldiers were wounded.
A NATO helicopter, meanwhile, made an emergency landing in neighboring Zabul province, a spokesman for the military alliance said. There were casualties among those onboard but Lt. Commander Chris Hall did not have further details.
The incident was not caused by insurgent fire, Hall said.
The incidents came as thousands of U.S. Marines in Helmand province mounted a major offensive against the Taliban. Over the weekend, insurgent attacks killed three British soldiers in the province, a militant stronghold and hub of the vast Afghan drug trade.
It wasn’t clear if the British casualties had been involved in the Marine operation. A total of 174 British personnel have died in Afghanistan since 2001, when U.S.-led forces first entered the country to oust the hard-line Taliban regime.
The Islamist militia has bounced back and now has effective control of large chunks of the volatile south and east of the country, undermining Afghanistan’s fledgling democracy. Afghanistan will hold its second presidential elections this August since the Taliban’s ouster.
Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Helmand offensive is “the first significant one” since President Barack Obama ordered 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan to try to reverse the militant gains.
“We’ve made some advances early. But I suspect it’s going to be tough for a while,” Mullen told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
The admiral described the goal of the Marines’ push as not just driving out the Taliban from areas they control, but securing the area to allow the Afghan government to operate.
“We’ve got to move to a point where there’s security … so that the Afghan people can get goods and services consistently from their government,” Mullen said.
Obama’s administration expects the total number of U.S. forces there to reach 68,000 by year’s end. That is double the number of troops in Afghanistan in 2008 but still half as many as are now in Iraq.
In the country’s east, 16 Afghan mine clearers were freed late Sunday a day after being kidnapped by unknown gunmen as they traveled between Paktia and Khost provinces, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
Police were searching for about 10 people responsible for the kidnapping but no arrests have been made so far, the statement said.
Afghanistan is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world, and the increase in violence amid a thriving Taliban insurgency has slowed clearance work. Some 50 people are killed and maimed by mines every month.
Associated Press writers Fisnik Abrashi and Amir Shah in Kabul contributed to this report.
Related News
12 Afghan civilians killed after bus hits roadside bombSeptember 30th, 2009 12 Afghan civilians killed in roadside bomb blastKABUL — A roadside bomb blast in southern Afghanistan has killed 12 civilians. Police chief Bismullah Khan says a civilian bus hit a bomb in Kandahar province's Maiwand district Tuesday morning, killing the 12 civilians and wounding another 15.
Roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan kills US service memberSeptember 22nd, 2009 Bomb in Afghanistan kills US service memberKABUL — Military officials say a roadside bomb has killed an American service member in southern Afghanistan, where U.S. and NATO troops have increased operations in recent months to offset Taliban violence.
Bomb targets German troops in Afghanistan 1 day after airstrike reportedly kills 70 peopleSeptember 5th, 2009 Bomb targets German troops in north AfghanistanKUNDUZ, Afghanistan — Associated Press reporters say a roadside bomb has exploded near a convoy of German troops in northern Afghanistan. Afghan officials confirmed that an explosion occurred Saturday near the northern city of Kunduz, but couldn't immediately provide details.
Two British soldiers killed in AfghanistanAugust 31st, 2009 LONDON - Two British soldiers have been killed in a roadside blast in southern Afghanistan, the British defence ministry said here Monday. The soldiers, from The Black Watch regiment, were killed in an explosion north of Lashkar Gah, in Helmand province.
US, British soldiers killed in attacks in AfghanistanAugust 21st, 2009 KABUL - One NATO-led US and two British soldiers were killed in separate roadside bomb blasts in southern and eastern Afghanistan, officials said Friday. The two British soldiers were killed Thursday, the same day as Taliban conducted more than 130 attacks during the country's presidential and provincial elections.
Three British soldiers killed in AfghanistanAugust 13th, 2009 KABUL - Three British soldiers serving in a NATO-led international military force were killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, officials said Monday. The soldiers died Sunday during a military patrol in the Sangin district of volatile Helmand province, the British defence ministry said in a statement.
Three US soldiers, three Afghan police killed in bomb blastsAugust 1st, 2009 KABUL - Three US soldiers were killed in roadside bomb blasts in southern Afghanistan Saturday, while a similar attack in the country's north took the lives of three Afghan policemen, officials said. The three soldiers were killed when their convoy was hit by two roadside bombs in southern Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement.
US military says blast kills 2 troops in southern Afghanistan, bringing total to 6 in a dayJuly 6th, 2009 2 more US troops killed in southern AfghanistanKABUL — A U.S. military spokesman says 2 more U.S.
4 US soldiers killed in a roadside bombing in northern AfghanistanJuly 6th, 2009 4 US soldier killed in AfghanistanKABUL — A roadside bomb in northern Afghanistan killed four American soldiers Monday, while a suicide attack in the south killed two civilians, officials said. The bombing in the northern Kunduz province targeted an American military convoy, said Kunduz Gov.
Four foreign soldiers killed in Afghanistan bombingJune 29th, 2009 KABUL - Four foreign soldiers were killed Monday in a roadside bombing outside Kabul, said a spokesman for the government of Maidan Wardak province. Shahidullah Shahid said the troopers died when their convoy was hit by a roadside bomb in the Jalrez district, about 40 km west of Kabul.
NATO says roadside bombs increa by 80 percent in Afghanistan, remain top killer of troopsJune 5th, 2009 Use of roadside bombs surges in AfghanistanWASHINGTON — Insurgent use of roadside bombs in Afghanistan has surged 80 percent this year, remaining the No. l killer of foreign troops, a NATO official said Thursday.
Four NATO troops killed in AfghanistanMarch 16th, 2009 KABUL - Four NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb blast in eastern Afghanistan, the military alliance said Sunday. Two of the soldiers were killed instantly when their vehicle was struck by the bomb and two soldiers died of the wounds they sustained in the attack, an ISAF spokesman in Kabul said.
Two British soldiers killed in Afghanistan blastMarch 16th, 2009 KABUL - Two British soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, bringing the total number of foreign soldiers killed in the country over the weekend to nine, the British military said Monday. The soldiers were part of British forces stationed in Helmand province with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the British Defence Ministry said in a statement.
Three Canadian soldiers killed in AfghanistanMarch 5th, 2009 KABUL - Three Canadian soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb blast in southern Afghanistan, NATO said Wednesday. The soldiers, part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), were killed Tuesday when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb in the Arghandab district of Kandahar province, a NATO spokesman said.
British soldier becomes first victim of 2009 in AfghanistanJanuary 1st, 2009 KABUL - A British soldier was killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan, marking the first loss of the year for the NATO-led international forces in the war-ravaged country, officials said Friday. The soldier was killed in a roadside bomb attack in Sangin district of the southern province of Helmand Thursday, the New Year's Day, a NATO spokesman said.
Loading ...