- Two US soldiers have been killed in a gun battle in south-eastern
Afghanistan, the US military has said. Six Afghan and two other American
troops were slightly wounded in the exchange, in the province of Paktika.
-
- Meanwhile Nematullah Shahrani, one of President Karzai's
four deputies, has escaped an apparent assassination bid.
-
- The attacks come amid security fears for October elections
which militants opposed to the US-backed Kabul government have pledged
to disrupt.
-
- Kunduz Governor Mohammad Omer said that one of the drivers
in Vice-President Shahrani's convoy was slightly injured when a remote-controlled
bomb hit his vehicle in the northern province's Khanabad district.
-
- Mr Karzai himself came under rocket attack from Taleban
militants in Paktika last Thursday, and was forced to abort his trip.
-
- Troubled border
-
- The American military has given few details about the
latest incident in Paktika, but says the injured soldiers were evacuated
to a base in a neighbouring province.
-
- US-led forces frequently clash with militants in border
areas. The area where the clash occurred borders the Pakistani tribal area
of South Waziristan, where Pakistan's armed forces had been engaged in
heavy fighting with militants.
-
- The BBC's Andrew North in Kabul says many cross back
and forth into Afghanistan, and confrontations with US forces are a frequent
occurrence.
-
- There were also reports of clashes on Monday between
US-led forces and suspected militants in Uruzgan and Zabul provinces, which
are both said to have high concentrations of Taleban militants.
-
- US-led forces have around 18,000 troops in Afghanistan
hunting militants in the south and east Afghanistan. The vast majority
are American.
-
- Another 1,100 US soldiers from the 82nd Airborne division
are being sent ahead of the elections.
|
