US troops stable after grenade attack

Two US soldiers and their Afghan interpreter were in a stable condition today after being injured in the first-ever grenade attack on American forces in Kabul.

The two US commandos were on a routine trip through the city yesterday when an Afghan man threw a grenade at their unmarked Russian jeep.

One of the soldiers suffered an eye injury and the other was wounded in the leg, a US military spokeswoman said.

“They were not life-threatening injuries,” said Captain Alayne Cramer.

She said the attack was the first of its kind on American troops in the capital and that US forces were taking it “seriously”. She said the Afghan interpreter was also in a stable condition, but had no other details.

Afghan police have arrested two men, including the man who allegedly hurled the grenade.

Interior Minister Taj Mohammed Wardak said the attack was linked to Osama Bin Laden’s al-Qaida terror network.

US forces are frequently attacked with crude rockets at bases in the east of the country. In November, a sniper shot a US special forces soldier in the leg and escaped.

Fifteen US servicemen have been killed in combat or hostile situations in Afghanistan since the US-led campaign began last autumn. The most recent fatality was in May.