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| Saturday, 31 January 2004 |
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Seven US soldiers killed, one missing in southern Afghanistan KABUL, Friday (AFP) An explosion in southeastern Afghanistan has killed at least seven US soldiers, with one still missing and several others wounded, officials said Friday, in one of the worst incidents suffered by the United States-led coalition. The blast occurred around 3:00 pm (1230 GMT) Thursday as troops were working near a weapons cache near Ghazni city, US military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Bryan Hilferty said. It was unclear whether the blast was caused by an attack or an accidental explosion within the cache. "We don't know, but we are working on it," Hilferty said. Three soldiers and an Afghan interpreter were wounded. "The wounded soldiers were evacuated to the 452nd Combat Support Hospital at Bagram Air Base," according to a statement issued by Central Command in the Unite States. American forces have begun an investigation into the explosion. "All I can add is that the wounded soldiers and interpreter are receiving the best medical care possible and we extend our condolences to the families of these brave warriors who were fighting for peace in Afghanistan," Hilferty said. The deaths bring to 107 the number of US soldiers killed while involved with Operation Enduring Freedom, launched in October 2001 to topple the Taliban and smash Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks. The last incident of this magnitude occurred in March when six crew members of a US Pave Hawk HH-60 helicopter were killed when their aircraft crashed, apparently by accident, during a humanitarian mission to airlift two injured Afghan children in southern Afghanistan. Only 16 US soldiers died during the lightning war that toppled the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regime from power in November 2001. Ghazni is about 150 kilometres (90 miles) southwest of Kabul, in Afghanistan's troubled southeast. The region has seen an upsurge in violence since last year, forcing aid workers and non-government organisations to withdraw most foreign staff from these areas. American troops regularly uncover arms caches in these areas, typically containing hundreds of mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. US soldiers are working in the Ghazni area to secure the newly-completed road linking the capital Kabul to the main southern city of Kandahar. They also plan to open a civil military reconstruction team in the area very soon. The news of the deaths follows two suicide bombings in Kabul this week. The attacks killed three people and wounded more than a dozen others and were clearly targeting foreigners. The United States on Thursday warned its citizens in Afghanistan to stay off the streets of Kabul, saying it was possible that such attacks might escalate in the coming days. |
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