Kabul, June 4
Two US soldiers were killed and another wounded in a bomb attack on their vehicle in southeastern Afghanistan, the US military said today. “An improvised explosive device detonated on June 3 near Orgun-E, killing two US service members and wounding a third,” it said in a statement.
An Afghan interpreter was also wounded in the blast which occurred in an insurgency-wracked town near the Afghan-Pakistan border in the Paktika province.
The wounded were evacuated by helicopter to a US military base at Salerno in the neighbouring Khost province for treatment, the statement said.
The attack occurred as a convoy was returning from the village of Gayan. The individuals were travelling in an armoured vehicle.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of these two brave individuals who gave their lives so that Afghanistan might have a safe and secure future,” US Army Brig-Gen James G. Champion said.
Guerrilla bomb attacks using crude homemade explosive devices have become the weapon of choice for the Taliban and other Islamic militants in the restive border regions of southern and southeastern Afghanistan.
Yesterday’s bomb attack capped a bloody few days in the war-torn country after a suicide bomber attacked a mosque in southern city of Kandahar, killing 21 persons, and wounding over 50 others.
—AFP
