Saturday, March 26, 2005
Land mine Kills Four U.S. Soldiers in Afghanistan
Sat Mar 26, 9:14 AM ET
KABUL (Reuters) - Four U.S. soldiers were killed Saturday when their vehicle struck a land mine in southeast Afghanistan (news - web sites), the U.S. military said.
The United States has lost more than 100 military personnel since deploying troops in Afghanistan following the fall of the Taliban in late 2001, but most of the deaths have been accidents.
The latest marked the worst loss of life in a single day for the United States in Afghanistan since three U.S. military personnel and three U.S. civilians were killed in a plane crash last November.
The soldiers had been traveling with Afghan troops in a three-vehicle patrol in Logar province, around 40 km (25 miles) south of Kabul.
A Taliban spokesman, Mullah Dadullah, told Reuters via satellite telephone that Taliban fighters had planted the mine.
Taliban claims of responsibility are not always reliable, and Lieutenant Cindy Moore, a U.S. military spokeswoman, said it was uncertain whether the mine was old or planted recently.
There has been little militant activity over the winter, but a pick-up in attacks is expected with the onset of spring. There have been several incidents in the past few days.
Last week, one U.S. soldier was killed and four were wounded when their vehicle struck a mine in the western province of Herat, and five Afghan civilians died when their truck hit a mine in the same area just hours later.
Mines and unexploded ordnance still litter Afghanistan from two decades of conflict going back to the 1979 Soviet invasion.
U.N. security officials issued a warning this month to beware of mines, as the spring thaw and recent heavy rains can cause "mine migration" due to soil movement.
Sat Mar 26, 9:14 AM ET
KABUL (Reuters) - Four U.S. soldiers were killed Saturday when their vehicle struck a land mine in southeast Afghanistan (news - web sites), the U.S. military said.
The United States has lost more than 100 military personnel since deploying troops in Afghanistan following the fall of the Taliban in late 2001, but most of the deaths have been accidents.
The latest marked the worst loss of life in a single day for the United States in Afghanistan since three U.S. military personnel and three U.S. civilians were killed in a plane crash last November.
The soldiers had been traveling with Afghan troops in a three-vehicle patrol in Logar province, around 40 km (25 miles) south of Kabul.
A Taliban spokesman, Mullah Dadullah, told Reuters via satellite telephone that Taliban fighters had planted the mine.
Taliban claims of responsibility are not always reliable, and Lieutenant Cindy Moore, a U.S. military spokeswoman, said it was uncertain whether the mine was old or planted recently.
There has been little militant activity over the winter, but a pick-up in attacks is expected with the onset of spring. There have been several incidents in the past few days.
Last week, one U.S. soldier was killed and four were wounded when their vehicle struck a mine in the western province of Herat, and five Afghan civilians died when their truck hit a mine in the same area just hours later.
Mines and unexploded ordnance still litter Afghanistan from two decades of conflict going back to the 1979 Soviet invasion.
U.N. security officials issued a warning this month to beware of mines, as the spring thaw and recent heavy rains can cause "mine migration" due to soil movement.
