Afghan attacks target US troops

07/07/2009| IslamWeb

At least six US soldiers were among 10 people killed in a series of attacks apparently targeting foreign troops in Afghanistan, as US marines continued their offensive in southern Afghanistan.

Four US soldiers died when a roadside bomb was detonated in northern Kunduz province on Monday, military officials said.

"There was a joint police and Nato patrol which was hit by a roadside bomb to the east to the city," Abdul Razaaq, the police chief in Kunduz, said.

Two Afghan civilians were also killed in the blast, he said.

The two other US deaths were caused by an explosion in the south, a US military spokesman said.

Helmand offensive

About 4,000 US marines, backed by a 650-strong force of Aghan security personnel, began an offensive on Thursday in southern Helmand province.

The operation is aimed at seizing control of areas in the lower Helmand valley.

About 500 marines moved into the Khan Neshin area on Monday, according to a military statement.

US soldier held

In Kandahar, which shares a border with Helmand, at least two people were killed in a suicide attack outside a Nato military base on Monday.

The bomber drove a car packed with explosives towards a line of lorry drivers waiting to supply US-led troops at the Kandahar airfield.

Meanwhile, Taliban fighters claimed in a statement on a website that they were holding a US soldier who went missing from his base in Paktika province last week.

"It is to be said that five days ago, a drunken American soldier who had come out of his garrison named Malakh, was captured by mujahidin ... He is still with mujahidin," the statement said.

There was no proof of the claim or further information about his whereabouts.

US defense sources said the American soldier walked off the base with three Afghans on June 30, leaving behind his body armor and weapons.

PHOTO CAPTION

A US soldier patrols in Afghanistan's Helmand Province.

Al-Jazeera