A bomb detonated by Taliban militants in
southern Afghanistan killed four people including two American nationals on
Sunday, police said, dpa reported.
Afghan police forces found a roadside bomb device in Nad Ali district of
southern Helmand province and called the US military advisors in area to defuse
it, Kamal Khan, deputy provincial police chief said.
"When the advisors and district police chief arrived at the scene, the
bomb was remotely detonated, killing two US citizens, their interpreter and one
Afghan policeman," Khan said.
Khan said that the district police chief was also wounded in the blast and was
in coma condition in a NATO hospital in the region.
US forces in Bagram, the biggest military base for the American troops in the
country, said that they were aware of an explosion in the district.
"Currently details about how many individuals may have been injured or
killed is unconfirmed," the military said in a statement.
Taliban spokesman, Qari Mohammad Yousif Ahmadi, speaking from an undisclosed
location, took responsibility for the attack and claimed that the blast killed
three Afghan and three American soldiers.
Southern Helmand province is one of the main hub for Taliban activities in the
country. Nad Ali district has witnessed heavy clashes between the insurgents
and Afghan and NATO forces in the past six months.
More than 80,000 British forces are stationed as part of more than 55,000-strong
NATO-led troops in Helmand province.
The US has announced a plan to send up to 30,000 extra troops to Afghanistan in the next 12 to 18 months, with thousands of them to be deployed to southern region,
which includes Helmand district.
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