5 NATO Soldiers, 3 Western Women, 9 Afghanis Killed in War Attacks, According to August 13-15, 2008

Two NATO soldiers among 10 dead in Afghan unrest

15. August 2008, 11:47
AFP -

Two NATO-led soldiers were among 10 people reported killed Friday in new violence in Afghanistan.

The soldiers died after being attacked in eastern Afghanistan Friday, NATO's 40-nation International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement that did not give the nationalities of the soldiers.

"Two ISAF service members died as a result of wounds suffered during an IED (improvised explosives device) strike and small arms fire attack on their patrol in eastern Afghanistan today," it said in a statement.

The deaths took to 19 the number of international troops to lose their lives in the country this month, with 163 dying this year, most of them in attacks.

Four Afghan police were killed in a separate attack Friday in the southern province of Helmand, a Taliban hotspot and Afghanistan's key opium-growing area.

"The police were on a routine patrol when a bomb exploded on their vehicles. Four of them were killed and five were wounded," said provincial police chief Hussein Andiwal.

Four Taliban fighters were killed in an operation overnight in the neighbouring province of Uruzgan, police there said.

"They tried to attack the police and in the fighting that followed, four Taliban fighters were killed and one was arrested," provincial police chief Juma Gul Himat said.

Afghan blast kills 3 in US-led coalition

14. August 2008, 13:46
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -

An explosion targeting international troops on a foot patrol in southern Afghanistan killed three members of the U.S.-led coalition Thursday, the coalition said.

The coalition did not release any details about the attack, including the troops' nationalities or the location of the blast. American forces make up the vast majority of the coalition, which includes special forces units and soldiers who train Afghan army and police forces. The 40-nation NATO-led force operates under a separate command.

Southern Afghanistan is the center of the Taliban resistance to the NATO occupation. The last three months have been the deadliest for international troops in Afghanistan since the 2001 U.S. led invasion.

A record number of U.S. and NATO troops are in Afghanistan — around 65,000 — exposing more soldiers than ever to increasingly lethal Taliban bombings and ambushes.

More than 3,200 people have died in violence countrywide so far this year, according to an Associated Press tally of figures provided by Afghan and Western officials.

At least 93 U.S. troops have died in Afghanistan this year, a pace that would make 2008 the deadliest for American forces since the 2001 invasion. At least 29 British troops have died, as have at least 15 Canadian forces.

Official: 3 Western women killed in Afghan attack

13. August 2008, 03:09
AP -

A Taliban ambush south of Kabul targeted a U.S. aid organization's vehicle Tuesday, killing an American, a Canadian and an Irish national, Afghan officials said.

The three women worked for the New York-based International Rescue Committee and were attacked in Logar, one province south of Kabul, said Abdullah Khan, the deputy counterterrorism director in Logar.

The women's Afghan driver was also killed, said Khan.

The three women were American, Canadian and Irish, said Abdul Majid Latifi, the deputy provincial police chief.

A U.S. Embassy spokeswoman said she had no immediate comment.

Officials with the International Rescue Committee said they couldn't immediately comment.

The International Rescue Committee provides emergency relief, rehabilitation, protection of human rights and post-conflict development in countries around the world, according to its Web site.

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