US Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan Mortar Attack

08/06/2005| IslamWeb

Two US soldiers have been killed and eight others wounded by a mortar attack on a base in southeastern Afghanistan, the US military says.

Wednesday's victims were among personnel preparing to unload supplies from a Chinook helicopter at the forward operating base at Shkin in Paktika province, the military said in a statement.

The attack came as Afghan and US-led forces arrested five men suspected of being Taliban members responsible for a deadly attack on a Pakistani-owned fuel tanker on Tuesday.

The tanker was delivering petrol to a US base in southern Afghanistan, police said.

The truck's Pakistani driver and assistant were killed in the assault late on Tuesday in Spin Boldak district, which is next to the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Abdul Latif Hakimi, a purported Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the killings, saying that anyone working for the United States would be targeted.

In recent months, Taliban-led fighters have stepped up attacks on Afghan and UN-sanctioned multinational forces as well as softer targets associated with President Hamid Karzai's government.

At least twelve US military personnel have been killed in a wave of clashes, blasts and ambushes in Afghanistan since late March.

PHOTO CAPTION

US soldiers in Afghanistan. (AFP)