Roadside bomb kills US soldier, Afghan

KABUL (Reuters) – Two soldiers, one an American and the
other an Afghan, were killed on Wednesday in a roadside bomb
attack in eastern Afghanistan that also wounded two U.S.
troops, a U.S. military spokesman said.

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Mohammad Yousuf, claimed
responsibility for the attack in Kunar province, which borders
Pakistan.

Captain Dwayne Wirfel, a spokesman for the U.S. military in
Afghanistan, said one U.S. soldier had been killed and two
wounded. He said an Afghan government soldier was also killed.

“An improvised explosive device struck their vehicle,” he
said.

More than 50 U.S. soldiers have been killed in combat in
Afghanistan this year, the bloodiest period for U.S. forces
since they overthrew the Taliban in 2001 for refusing to hand
over al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, architect of the September
11 attacks.

A U.S. military statement earlier said one U.S. service
member was killed and four injured on Wednesday when their
armoured vehicle overturned in an accident in the southern
Afghan province of Kandahar.

It said the accident had not been caused by hostile
activity.

Washington announced this month that it planned to cut U.S.
troop numbers in Afghanistan to about 16,500 from 19,000 by
next spring, despite a stubborn Taliban insurgency.

The Pentagon said the cut was made possible by a planned
increase in NATO forces next year and the growing size of
Afghan security forces.