Four US troops killed in Afghanistan
KABUL (AFP) – A roadside bomb attack killed four US soldiers in Afghanistan on Friday as pressure increased on President Barack Obama to order thousands more soldiers into an escalating eight-year war.
"Two US service members were killed and two died of wounds sustained in a single improvised explosive device attack in southern Afghanistan October 15," the NATO-led International Security As
More..sistance Force (ISAF) said.
No further details were immediately available but thousands of US troops are fighting in southern Afghanistan as part of a push to quell a resurgent Taliban in what is their spiritual heartland.
The latest military deaths come as Obama debates whether to send thousands of additional troops to the impoverished country on top of 21,000 extra forces he committed after taking office this year.
In a grim assessment of a war with military casualties at record levels, the commander of the 100,000 US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has asked Obama for a reported 40,000 extra troops.
ISAF's commander in southern Afghanistan, Dutch Major General Mart de Kruif, told AFP in an interview Thursday that he wanted 10,000 to 15,000 more troops, including support units, to ensure security in the region.
He also called for more Afghan army and police plus civilian workers to help development and reconstruction projects.
Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) -- homemade, cheap and difficult to detect -- have become the Taliban's weapon of choice against foreign troops, as they look to regain influence across the country.
An AFP toll based on a tally by the independent website icasualties.org puts foreign military fatalities this year at 414 -- the bloodiest since US-led operations to oust the Taliban regime began in late 2001.
The US president is expected to unveil a new strategy within weeks to contain an insurgency fuelled by Al-Qaeda militants and the Taliban, which is resurgent eight years after US-led troops ousted them from power.
Obama has said the top goal of any new policy would be consistent with current US aims -- rooting out Al-Qaeda and its "extremist allies".
Compounding the military difficulties is speculation that Afghan President Hamid Karzai could be forced into a run-off without securing an outright majority at elections in August scarred by fraud allegations.
A fraud probe has trimmed Karzai's vote share to just 47 percent, The Washington Post said Friday.
The Independent Election Commission gave Karzai 54.6 percent in its preliminary results, which would secure him for a second five-year term.
But Afghanistan's ambassador to the United States, Said Tayeb Jawad, conceded for the first time that the disputed elections put Karzai and former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah into a run-off.
On the ground, ISAF said two civilians lost their lives during a joint operation with Afghan police that killed a number of militants suspected of mounting attacks in eastern Ghazni province.
"During the operation, as militants attacked the joint force, a woman and school-aged girl were accidentally killed in the crossfire," the statement said.
It added: "It is unclear if the enemy militants or the joint force are responsible for the deaths."
ISAF spokesman Colonel Wayne Shanks said they were "genuinely sorry" when Afghan civilians were killed but took steps to prevent civilian casualties.
Separate operations in southern Paktika province and Wardak, in the west, saw a number of suspected militants killed or detained, ISAF added.
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Added: Oct 16 2009 In: middle_east
Recorded on: Oct 16 2009
By: Snusmumrikken
- Views: 2023 |
- Votes: 1 |
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- Comments: 38
Comments - sort by newest to oldest
rip in peace brave warriors. f ck u talifags you will certainly get yours. ****in road side bombs WTF is there not something that can defeat this weapon.
Posted Oct-16-2009 by "rmacl" (R)
It's sad reports like this that make these X-Box commandos who deride IED's as jokes look like idiots.
Posted Oct-16-2009 by "sallyII" (R)
Keep the good job my brothers, till they all die. Allahu Akbar!
Posted Oct-16-2009 by "slurft" (R)
More us toy soldiers are broken...
Posted Oct-16-2009 by "evreokiller" (R)
RIPs brave warriors, sadly the $100,000 humvees couldnt save your lives from a $50 bomb
Posted Oct-16-2009 by "unprotected" (R)
actually its $150,000
Posted Oct-16-2009 by "unprotected" (R)
Congratulations taliban, u have donE it again.
¤ 4 DEAD RATS ARE ENOUGH THIS FRIDAY, TOMMOROW MAKE IT 10.
pEACE
Posted Oct-16-2009 by "A_Power" (R)
allahu akbar
Posted Oct-16-2009 by "A_Power" (R)
faggots, kids, and hippies pretending to be islamists congratulating the deaths of my fallen Brothers in Arms.. say what you want, but even in death they are BETTER than all of you..
Posted Oct-16-2009 by "ChounchHatesTrolls" (R)
try 300,000 according to Investor Village
Posted Oct-16-2009 by "lenovo1" (R)
Obviously a few hundred more UAVs would be desireable
Posted Oct-16-2009 by "fr33thinker" (R)
i think those mrap vehicules are alot of bs.keep some vehicules for ur exit strategy.the term exit strategy is just something they invented to keep the war going.they have trucks plains.maybe consider using them to go back from where u came.instead of driving around and getting them blow up.
Posted Oct-16-2009 by "kaalkop" (R)
How much young people will die to bring money to the politicians?
Posted Oct-16-2009 by "undercover666" (R)
its the only way these cowards can fight and yet we still kill more of them everyday
Posted Oct-16-2009 by "Urbanstealth" (R)
look up HARDWIRE ARMOR and youll see a solution to ied's and efp's
Posted Oct-16-2009 by "austinsown81" (R)