US soldier killed in Afghanistan attack

A US soldier died from wounds and another was slightly injured by a bomb in separate incidents in the same Afghanistan province, the US military said yesterday.

It said the soldier’s name was being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

The statement comes after earlier comments from US military officials who said a US soldier was slightly wounded by a bomb on patrol in south-eastern Afghanistan and at least three Afghan civilians were hurt when a US military helicopter fired on their car.

The improvised bomb exploded near the US base at Shkin in Paktika province close to the border with Pakistan, Lieutenant- Colonel Douglas Lefforge told a news briefing at the US headquarters at Bagram to the north of Kabul.

Also in Paktika on Wednesday, at least three Afghan civilians were wounded when a US military helicopter fired on their car near Urgun district, police chief Dawlat Khan said.

Khan said a woman was among the wounded treated in a local hospital, but he added that family members did not know the whereabouts of four other occupants of the car. Khan said the helicopter may have mistaken the civilians for guerrillas it has been pursuing since overthrowing the Taliban regime in 2001.

The US military is heading a 12,500 strong coalition force in Afghanistan pursuing remnants of the Taliban and al-Qaida which is blamed for the September 11 2001 attacks on the US.