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Roadside bomb kills US soldier, Afghan

Posted on: Wednesday, 28 December 2005, 10:02 CST

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.

Source: REUTERS

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