Three American troops killed in eastern Afghanistan

Three American troops killed in eastern Afghanistan

2011-06-01 02:16:08 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL (BNO NEWS) -- A bomb blast killed three American service members in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, the U.S. military confirmed on Tuesday.

The U.S. military said three United States Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A) service members were killed on Saturday as a result of an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in eastern Afghanistan, but provided no other details. The deaths were not earlier announced by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

"We release information about USFOR-A casualties after next of kin notification is complete," the force said when asked why the deaths were not earlier announced. "We do this because it is in keeping with the requests of other nations who have (ISAF) troops in Afghanistan. The respective ministries of defense have asked that we not announce which nation a casualty is from, and instead allow the home country to conduct the notification and announcement in accordance with their respective customs."

The deaths raise the total number of foreign troops killed on Saturday to seven. Two of them were German soldiers who died when a suicide bomber dressed as a police officer targeted a high-profile meeting at the Governor's Palace in Takhar province. The attack also killed a powerful Afghan police chief, General Daud Daud, and provincial police chief Brig. Gen. Shah Jehan Noori.

Coalition casualties in Afghanistan have been rising sharply in recent years, with a total coalition death toll of 709 in 2010, making it the deadliest year for international troops since the war began in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

So far this year, 218 coalition service members have been killed in Afghanistan. Most troops are killed in the country's south, which is plagued by IED attacks on troops and civilians.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-06-01