Rebels fired rockets at a military base in Afghanistan, killing two US service members and wounding eight as they were unloading supplies from a helicopter, in one of the bloodiest assaults against American forces since insurgents ramped up their fighting in March.
The killings Wednesday came a day after the country's government warned that Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters had launched a campaign of violence to undermine legislative elections set for September.
US war planes and helicopters rushed to the area around the base in Shkin, 7km from the border with Pakistan, to hunt for the attackers, but found no trace of them, US spokesman Jerry O'Hara said.
The wounded were flown to US-led coalition bases for treatment, he said.
An initial military statement said mortars had hit the base, but O'Hara later said an investigation had found the attackers had fired four rockets.
"This was a serious attack against coalition forces," O'Hara said. "Security is not as good as it should be. But when you look at it over the course of months, incidents are on the decline. But that doesn't appear to be the case today."
He said the victims were part of a mission along the border "preventing foreign fighters from entering into this country to derail the peace process."
Militants based in tribal regions on the Pakistani side of the mountainous border often cross into Afghanistan to launch attacks, according to Afghan officials. Seventeen suspected Taliban rebels were captured in the border area Monday.
The name of the dead service members and the branch of the military they worked for were withheld until their families were notified.
The deaths brought to 148 the number of US service members killed in and around Afghanistan since "Operation Enduring Freedom" began in 2001, according to Pentagon figures.
Wednesday's killings came five days after two other US forces were killed and another wounded when a bomb exploded near a military convoy, also in eastern Afghanistan near the border.
Even though US officials remain upbeat about progress toward peace, there has been a steep rise in bombings, shootings and other killings since spring's warmer weather melted thick snow on mountain passes the rebels use.
Over 800 Iraqi civilians have been killed since the swearing-in of the new Iraqi government.
US and Iraqi forces have hit back hard, killing more than 200 suspected rebels since March, according to US and Afghan officials.
A spokesman for President Hamid Karzai, Jawed Ludin, claimed Tuesday that al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels launched a violent campaign last week to subvert Sept. 18 legislative elections -- the next key step toward democracy three years after US-led forces ousted the Taliban for harboring Osama bin Laden.
Meanwhile, the Afghan government reported Wednesday that negotiations to free a kidnapped Italian aid worker were "close to a conclusion."
Clementina Cantoni, who works for CARE International, was abducted by armed men on May 16 as she was being driven to her home in the capital, Kabul.
"The negotiations are ongoing ... we are close to a conclusion. We are very optimistic," Interior Ministry spokesman Latfullah Mashal told reporters.
School bullies in Singapore are to face caning under new guidelines, but the education minister on Tuesday said it would be meted out only as a last resort with strict safeguards. Human rights groups regularly criticize Singapore for the use of corporal punishment, which remains part of the school and criminal justice systems, but authorities have defended it as a deterrent to crime and serious misconduct. Caning was discussed in the parliament after legislators asked how it would be used in relation to bullying in schools. The debate followed stricter guidelines on serious student misconduct, including bullying, unveiled by the Singaporean Ministry of
‘GROSS NEGLIGENCE?’ Despite a spleen typically being significantly smaller than a liver, the surgeon said he believed Bryan’s spleen was ‘double the size of what is normal’ A Florida surgeon who is facing criminal charges after allegedly removing a patient’s liver instead of his spleen has said he is “forever traumatized” by that person’s death. In a deposition from November last year that was recently obtained by NBC, 44-year-old Thomas Shaknovsky described the death of 70-year-old William Bryan as an “incredibly unfortunate event that I regret deeply.” Bryan died after the botched surgery; and last month, a grand jury in Tallahassee indicted Shaknovsky on a charge of manslaughter. “I’m forever traumatized by it and hurt by it,” Shaknovsky added, also saying that wrong-site surgeries can happen “during
A MESSAGE: Japan’s participation in the Balikatan drills is a clear deterrence signal to China not to attack Taiwan while the US is busy in the Middle East, an analyst said The Japan Self-Defense Forces yesterday fired a Type 88 anti-ship missile during a joint maritime exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces, hitting a decommissioned Philippine Navy ship in waters facing the disputed South China Sea, in drills that underscore Tokyo’s rising willingness to project military power on China’s doorstep. The drill took place as Manila and Tokyo began talks on a potential defense equipment transfer, made possible by Japan’s decision to scrap restrictions on military exports. The discussions include the possible early transfer of Abukuma-class destroyers and TC-90 aircraft to the Philippines, Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. Philippine Secretary of
A South Korean judge who last week more than doubled former South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee’s prison sentence was found dead yesterday, police said. Shin Jong-o was found unconscious at about 1am at the Seoul High Court building, an investigator at the Seocho District Police Station in Seoul said. Shin was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, he said. “There is no sign of foul play in the death,” the investigator added. Local media reported that Shin had left a suicide note, but the investigator said there was none. On Tuesday last week, Shin presided over 53-year-old Kim’s appeal trial, finding her guilty
RSS