US soldier, 22 Taliban killed in Afghanistan (Roundup)

Sep 30, 2009, 13:23 GMT

   Kabul - A US soldier was killed Wednesday when a suicide bomber attacked his convoy in south-eastern Afghanistan, while Afghan and foreign troops killed 22 Taliban militants in a joint operation in the western part of the country, officials said.

   A US military spokesman in Kabul said one US soldier died from injuries he sustained in a roadside blast in the province of Khost on Wednesday morning.

   But Shah Hemat, the administrative chief of Mandozai district, said a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden car close to an international military convoy on the main highway linking the province with Kabul.

   He said the area was cordoned off by US forces and he could not say if there were casualties.

   A police official in the province said thick smoke was coming from the attack site and a US helicopter was hovering in the area.

   Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said a militant named Salahuddin carried out the attack and killed 10 US soldiers.

   The Taliban militants rely heavily on use of suicide and roadside attacks as part of their fight against Afghan and more than 100,000 international forces in the country.

   Meanwhile, Afghan and NATO-led forces conducted an operation in the western province of Farah on Tuesday night, killing 22 Taliban militants and wounding 25 others, an Interior Ministry statement said.

   Twelve other militants were arrested by the joint forces during the four-hour operation, while the security forces seized more than 40 weapons from the militants, it said, adding that there were no casualties among the Afghan security forces.

   Farah is the most turbulent province in the western region, where the Taliban is seen to be spreading its writ.

    The operation came a day after Afghan and US forces killed up to 40 Taliban in Farah province on Monday, according to Afghan army officials and provincial authorities.