US reports casualties in Afghanistan fighting
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Militants attacked a patrol by US and Afghan troops in the country's south yesterday, setting off a gunbattle that killed one American soldier, one Afghan soldier, and 11 rebels, the US military said.
The US military also said six of itroops were wounded Sunday in a roadside bombing elsewhere in the country.
In yesterday's deadly assault in a small village in Uruzgan province's Dihrawud district, three American troops and an Afghan soldier were wounded, a military statement said.
US fighter jets and attack helicopters responded to the assault and pounded militant positions, it said. Eight insurgents were captured and four rocket-propelled grenades and two assault rifles were seized.
The wounded were brought to a base for treatment and one of the injured Americans was flown to Germany for additional medical care. Another was taken to the main base in the country's south, while the third was treated and released, the statement said.
''This tragic loss strengthens our resolve to further the advance of a democratic Afghanistan. We extend our prayers and condolences to the family of our service member, and we share their loss," said US Army Brigadier General Jack Sterling, deputy commanding general of Combined Joint Task Force-76.
The death brings to 173 the number of US troops killed in and around Afghanistan since Operation Enduring Freedom began in 2001.
The latest death came a day after another US service member was killed in a firefight in neighboring Helmand province.
The roadside bombing that wounded six US troops was in the same mountainous area where a commando team was ambushed and a special forces helicopter shot down last month.
Militants opened fire at the US convoy after the blast in Kunar province's Asadabad district, prompting US forces to launch airstrikes and artillery fire against suspected enemy positions, a separate US military statement said.
It was not immediately known whether any insurgents were killed or wounded, it said.
The wounded US troops were in stable condition after being taken to an airfield in nearby Parwan province for medical treatment.
''We are aggressively looking for the individuals responsible for this attack," said US Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jerry O'Hara.
On June 28, militants ambushed a US Navy SEAL commando team in Kunar, killing three of its four members. The fourth escaped after spending days in the rugged mountains. The helicopter that was shot down had 16 troops on board who were rushing to help the ambushed special forces team.
