U.S.: 40 Afghan Rebels Killed

Marines, Afghan Troops Hunt Suspected Militants In Weeklong Mission

(AP)  A separate NATO-led peacekeeping force also has brought in reinforcements ahead of the polls and now numbers about 10,500.

The recent violence in Afghanistan pales next to the casualties suffered in Iraq, but it has dampened some of the optimism that prevailed after the country's inaugural presidential election took place took place peacefully last fall and insurgent attacks dropped off during the winter.

In other recent developments:

A roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan killed four U.S. soldiers and wounded three others on Sunday, the U.S. military said. The blast came as the troops were patrolling in Zabul province's Daychopan district, the military said in a statement. The three wounded soldiers were hit by shrapnel and were in stable condition, the military said.

A roadside bomb exploded Sunday near a convoy of U.S. Embassy vehicles on the outskirts of the capital, Kabul, lightly wounding two American staff members, embassy spokesman Lou Fintor said.

In the southern Kandahar province, gunmen riding a motorbike killed senior cleric Mawlawi Abdullah — the latest attack on religious leaders who have openly condemned the Taliban and other extremists.

Two roadside bombs also exploded near police convoys in the southern provinces of Zabul and Uruzgan late Saturday, each killing two officers, officials said.

Last Tuesday, a helicopter carrying NATO peacekeepers crashed in a western Afghan desert and another chopper flying with it made an emergency landing, killing 17 Spanish troops and wounding five. Investigators have so far found no evidence that the helicopters were downed by hostile fire. The Spanish soldiers were training for security operations for the elections, and their deaths marked the NATO force's largest single loss of life in Afghanistan.

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