US soldiers hurt in Kabul grenade attack

Two American soldiers were wounded today when a grenade was hurled into their jeep in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

One of the soldiers was wounded in the head and also suffered wounds “to his lower extremities,” said US military spokeswoman Lieutenant Tina Kroske. The second soldier suffered wounds to the lower right leg.

It wasn’t immediately known whether the wounds were life threatening, and Kroske declined to give further details.

An eyewitness said bystanders wrestled one of the assailants to the ground before he could hurl a second grenade.

The suspected attackers, all of them Afghans, said they did it because they hated Americans. They were in Afghan custody but Lt Kroske said it was possible they would be handed over to the US military.

Afghanistan’s interior ministry had earlier said three soldiers were injured.

Kroske did not say how many soldiers were in the jeep at the time of the attack.

At the scene, US soldiers inspected the blood-splattered jeep, as Afghan police waved away bystanders.

Several American Humvees equipped with machine guns and American troops wearing bullet-proof vests guarded the site of the attack outside the city’s Blue Mosque in the heart of Kabul.