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.
LANDMARK CASE: ‘Every night we were dragged to US soldiers and sexually abused. Every week we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests,’ a victim said More than 100 South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for US soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said yesterday. Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving US troops stationed in country to protect the South from North Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s top court ruled that the government had illegally “established, managed and operated” such brothels for the US military, ordering it to pay about 120 plaintiffs compensation. Last week, 117 victims
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday vowed to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections. The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023. He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the center-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse. A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct,” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda. “We will deepen and accelerate it,” he
‘HYANGDO’: A South Korean lawmaker said there was no credible evidence to support rumors that Kim Jong-un has a son with a disability or who is studying abroad South Korea’s spy agency yesterday said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter, Kim Ju-ae, who last week accompanied him on a high-profile visit to Beijing, is understood to be his recognized successor. The teenager drew global attention when she made her first official overseas trip with her father, as he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Analysts have long seen her as Kim’s likely successor, although some have suggested she has an older brother who is being secretly groomed as the next leader. The South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) “assesses that she [Kim Ju-ae]
RSS