Jun 27, 2008 11:18 am US/Eastern
Coalition Soldier Killed, 5 Wounded In Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ―
One member of the U.S.-led military coalition in Afghanistan has been killed and five more wounded in the country's increasingly turbulent west, the military said Friday.
Two Afghan army soldiers also were wounded in the "engagement" Thursday during a reconnaissance patrol in the Gulistan district of Farah province, a coalition statement said.
Insurgency-related violence has killed more than 2,000 people in Afghanistan this year, according to an AP tally. Most were militants, though the total also includes 115 foreign troops.
Also on Thursday, a roadside bomb killed three coalition troops and an Afghan interpreter south of the capital.
A day later, the military was still trying to identify the remains of the victims of the attack, in which one vehicle was severely damaged and burned. The coalition said three bodies were found at the site and the other in a nearby field.
Fighting between Islamic militants and security forces is intensifying across the southern half of Afghanistan, from the mountains bordering Pakistan to the deserts which straddle its frontier with Iran.
Violence typically surges in the summer months, where mountain passes are clear of snow and militants can camp in the hills.
Coalition commanders say the current increase is also because of the record number of foreign troops - currently about 60,000 - and Western-trained government soldiers challenging militants in remote areas like Farah.
In other violence reported Friday, NATO said it killed "several" insurgents in the remote northeast.
The alliance said insurgents mounted an attack on Thursday in Nuristan province with small arms and rockets. NATO troops responded with indirect fire - a term that often describes mortar or rocket fire.
NATO said its forces also fired back at militants who launched a barrage of rockets at two of its bases in neighboring Kunar province on Friday.
Afghan officials said one girl was killed and about a dozen other civilians wounded by rockets that hit the homes.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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