Taliban claims roadside bomb attack that killed three US soldiers in Afghanistan
It is believed to be the deadliest attack on US service members in Afghanistan this year
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Taliban has claimed a roadside bomb attack that killed three US soldiers and left at least three wounded in Afghanistan.
The incident involved an improvised explosive device (IED), which detonated near the southeastern city of Ghazni, according to a statement from the US military
It is believed to be the worst loss of life for US military personnel in the country this year.
An additional US defence contractor was also wounded in the roadside explosion and was evacuated to receive treatment alongside the soldiers.
The identities of the deceased have not been released as yet, per US military policy to wait 24 hours after the next of kin have been notified.
Three days ago another US soldier was killed in a similar incident in another southeastern province, Nimroz, the Resolute Support Mission led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) said in the statement.
Sergeant Leandro AS Jasso’s death occurred during a fight with militants linked to al Qaeda, however, it was determined he died as a result of friendly fire from an “Afghan partner force”.
The military indicated “there were no indications he was shot intentionally”.
Major Brent Taylor of the Army National Guard, who was also the mayor of North Ogden, Utah, was killed in another apparent friendly fire incident on 4 November after a member of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces shot him. The suspect was immediately killed by other Afghan forces, the US military said.
According to the Defense Casualty Analysis System, 10 US soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan this year. A total of 13 solders have died, counting three Czech service members who died after a suicide bomb was set off near the Bagram military base in August.
The Taliban have killed at 30 people and injured dozens more in recent days.
The extremist group ambushed a police convoy, killing 22 officers and injuring five others.
In a separate incident, eight Afghan soldiers were killed in an attack at an army base in the Qaisar district of northern Faryab province. Five others were reported as injured.
Deaths of western coalition soldiers including the US have been on a decline in recent years, but the opposite appears to be true for Aghan partner forces.
President Ashraf Ghani has claimed at least 29,000 deaths among the Afghan Security Forces since 2015 and according to the New York Times the numbers show at least 25 soldiers have been killed each day in 2018.
Between January and June 2018, an additional 1,700 civilians have been reported as killed according to the United Nations assistance mission in the South Asian country.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments