Militants used remote-control bombs to attack US forces in two assaults in Afghanistan, killing one US service member and an Afghan employed by the military as well as wounding four US troops, officials said yesterday.
A second US soldier was killed and four others hurt when their armored vehicle rolled over in an accident during a combat operation, the military said.
This year has been the deadliest for the US military in Afghanistan with 91 fatalities in fighting and accidents.
The latest deaths brought to 208 the number killed since American forces ousted the Taliban in 2001 for harboring al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Along with the high number of American casualties, more than 1,500 Afghan rebels, soldiers, police and civilians have been killed in fighting, raising fears for Afghanistan's future.
The first attack occurred on Wednesday in Kunar, a rugged mountainous province on the border with Pakistan where scores of militants are believed to hide out.
The troops and the Afghan employee were driving in an armored vehicle when they were hit by a roadside bomb near the regional capital Asadabad, a military statement said.
The two wounded were evacuated to a base in Asadabad, where one was treated and released, it said.
Provincial Governor Assadullah Wafa blamed "enemies of Afghanistan" for the attack, a term commonly used to refer to Taliban rebels.
Some of the deadliest attacks on US forces this year have occurred in Kunar.
In June, suspected Taliban fighters shot down a special forces helicopter, resulting in the deaths of 16 troops, after killing four US commandos on the ground.
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