BREAKING: Two US soldiers killed by Afghanistan roadside bomb blast

Issued on: 11/01/2020 - 20:44Modified: 12/01/2020 - 10:42  GMT/ZULU

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Kandahar (Afghanistan) 

by Leila Mohamed and Biodun Iginla, France24

Two American soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan on Saturday when a Taliban roadside bomb ripped through an army vehicle, officials said.

Two other soldiers were wounded in the attack in Kandahar province, according to NATO's Resolute Support mission in the country.

A mission spokesman said the names of those killed were being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

The troops were on patrol near Kandahar airport in Dand district, provincial police spokesman Jamal Nasir Barkzai told AFP.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid saying on Twitter that the blast destroyed the vehicle and killed all on board.

Violence in Afghanistan usually recedes as winter sets in. But this year the Taliban have pushed forward with their operations despite heavy snowfall in the mountains -- and despite their negotiations with the US for a deal that would see American troops leave the country.

According to details made public so far, the Pentagon would withdraw about 5,000 of its 13,000 or so troops from five bases across Afghanistan, provided the Taliban sticks to its security pledges.

The insurgents have said they will renounce Al-Qaeda, fight the Islamic State group and stop jihadists using Afghanistan as a safe haven.

Last year was the deadliest for US forces in Afghanistan since combat operations officially finished at the end of 2014, highlighting the challenging security situation that persists.

More than 2,400 US troops have been killed in combat there since the US-led invasion in October 2001.

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Afghan commando kills two US soldiers: official

10 June 2017 - 19H20  GMT/UTC/ZULU TIME

by Sunita Kureishi and Biodun Iginla, France24, JALALABAD (AFGHANISTAN)

 
 
 
 
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© AFP/File | So-called "green-on-blue" attacks -- when Afghan soldiers or police turn their guns on international troops -- have been a major problem during NATO's long years fighting alongside Afghan forces Explosions and gunfire echoed through Kabul after near simultaneous Taliban suicide assaults on two security compounds, as the insurgents ramp up attacks even before the start of their annual spring offensive.

JALALABAD (AFGHANISTAN)  - 

An Afghan commando Saturday killed two American soldiers and wounded two others during a joint operation in eastern Nangarhar province, a stronghold of Islamic State militants, an official said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the insider attack in the volatile district of Achin, saying it was carried out by an infiltrator.

"Today around noon an Afghan commando opened fire on US troops in Achin district, killing two American soldiers," provincial spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told us at France24.  

"The (Afghan) soldier was also killed in the return fire."

NATO forces in Kabul declined to immediately comment on the killings.

"We are aware of an incident in eastern Afghanistan," the US-led military coalition said in a brief statement. "We will release more information when appropriate."

So-called "green-on-blue" attacks -- when Afghan soldiers or police turn their guns on international troops -- have been a major problem during NATO's long years fighting alongside Afghan forces.

Western officials say most such attacks stem from personal grudges and cultural misunderstandings rather than insurgent plots.

The killings have bred fierce mistrust between local and foreign forces even as the rate of such incidents has dropped in recent years.

NATO troops have adopted special security measures in recent years to try to counter the threat.

Insider attacks have also plagued Afghan troops, depleting morale and causing mistrust within security ranks.