2 US soldiers killed in south Afghanistan

Two American soldiers were killed and two others injured in a roadside bomb attack on a US Army vehicle in southern Afghanistan yesterday, the Nato mission there said.

“In accordance with US Department of Defense policy, the names of the service members killed in action will be withheld until 24 hours after notification of next of kin is complete,” the Nato Resolute Support mission said in a statement.

The Taliban earlier claimed responsibility for the attack.

The incident took place in Dand district of southern Kandahar province, where a bomb hit a US armoured vehicle, provincial police spokesman Jamal Nasir Barkzai told AFP.

“Foreign forces were patrolling near the Kandahar airport when they were hit by a blast. We don’t have the details of the casualties because they have cordoned off the area,” he said. Violence in Afghanistan usually recedes as the cold winter sets in but this year the Taliban have pushed forward with their operations.