2 soldiers, reporter are slain in Afghanistan

June 07, 2007|Jason Straziuso, Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghanistan's recent spate of violence claimed the lives of two more NATO soldiers yesterday , while the death toll in June among militants rose to 200.

In northern Afghanistan, a female radio station owner was gunned down -- the second death of a female reporter in a week. Elsewhere, US-led coalition and Afghan troops backed by airstrikes killed two militants and detained 19. Both military and militant operations are intensifying, raising doubts about the prospects for stability in Afghanistan more than five years after a US-led invasion drove the Taliban regime from power for sheltering Osama bin Laden.

Two soldiers from NATO's International Security Assistance Force died in "separate engagements with enemy fighters" in southern Afghanistan, a military statement said. It did not provide their nationalities or specify where the fighting took place.

The deaths brought to 77 the number of international troops killed in Afghanistan this year, according to an Associated Press count. Six have been killed in the last six days, including at least four US soldiers. At least 38 American troops have been killed in Afghanistan this year.

The militant fatalities this month account for about 10 percent of the estimated 2,000 insurgency-related deaths in Afghanistan this year, according to an AP tally based on figures reported by US, NATO and Afghan officials.

A spokeswoman for the security assistance force, Lieutenant Colonel Maria Carl, said NATO and Afghan troops are participating in more than 20 operations around the country and operating in more regions than a year ago, which accounts for some of the increased violence.

READER COMMENTS »

View reader comments » Comment on this story »