Bomb kills a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan (AP) Updated: 2005-11-15 23:15
A bomb exploded Tuesday near U.S. and Afghan troops as they patrolled in
volatile eastern Afghanistan, killing a U.S. soldier and wounding another, the
military said.
Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai (L) talks
to Austrian President Heinz Fischer (R) in the inner yard of Hofburg
palace in Vienna November 15, 2005. Karzai is on a three-day official
visit to Austria. [Reuters] |
The incident occurred a day after suicide bombers rammed cars filled with
explosives into NATO peacekeepers in two attacks in the Afghan capital — the
first major assault on foreign troops in Kabul in more than a year. The death
toll rose to nine Tuesday as police found more bodies in a ditch and a wounded
man died.
Police blamed al-Qaida for the suicide bombings. Such seemingly coordinated
attacks are unprecedented in Afghanistan, and reinforced fears that Taliban
insurgents are copying tactics used in Iraq.
In the latest violence, the U.S. and Afghan troops were traveling in an
armored vehicle in Paktika province when the bomb exploded. Two Afghan soldiers
and a civilian were also wounded, the military said.
The death brought to 204 the number of U.S. troops killed in and around
Afghanistan since the ouster of the Taliban in late 2001. It comes amid a surge
in rebel activity this year that has killed almost 1,500 people.
Monday's bombings occurred within 90 minutes of each
other on a 500-yard stretch of road near the headquarters of Afghan-U.N.
election organizers. In each case, the attackers rammed their cars into NATO
vehicles. Troops thwarted a suspected third bombing by fatally shooting three
people in a car racing toward the scene of the blasts.
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