Afghan IED Attack Kills 4 U.S. Troops
Updated at 4:20 a.m. Eastern.
A roadside bombing killed four U.S. service members, the first American combat deaths of the year in Afghanistan, while a British soldier died during a foot patrol elsewhere in the volatile south of the country, officials said Monday.
A statement from NATO's International Security Assistance Force said the explosion that killed the U.S. service members took place Sunday in the south, but did not give further details on the location or the victims' branch of service.
The deaths are the first U.S. fatalities from hostile action in Afghanistan this year. One U.S. service member has died of non-combat causes so far in 2010.
CBSNews.com Special Report: Afghanistan
The British soldier died while on foot patrol Sunday in Helmand province, the British Ministry of Defense said.
Afghan insurgents are increasingly turning to improvised explosive devices — also called roadside bombs — in their fight against Afghan and international forces. Of the 304 U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan last year, 129 were due to IEDs, according to a tally by The Associated Press.
Also Monday, NATO said a joint Afghan-international force discovered a huge cache of marijuana and turned it over to police for destruction. NATO said the cache contained up to 28,000 cubic feet of marijuana; that's the equivalent of about seven standard semi-trailers.
As the U.S. and other Western nations have tried to help Afghanistan stamp out its poppy fields — the country is the world's leading opium producer — an increasing number of farmers have turned to marijuana, which is receiving less attention from authorities.
© 2010 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A roadside bombing killed four U.S. service members, the first American combat deaths of the year in Afghanistan, while a British soldier died during a foot patrol elsewhere in the volatile south of the country, officials said Monday.
A statement from NATO's International Security Assistance Force said the explosion that killed the U.S. service members took place Sunday in the south, but did not give further details on the location or the victims' branch of service.
The deaths are the first U.S. fatalities from hostile action in Afghanistan this year. One U.S. service member has died of non-combat causes so far in 2010.
CBSNews.com Special Report: Afghanistan
The British soldier died while on foot patrol Sunday in Helmand province, the British Ministry of Defense said.
Afghan insurgents are increasingly turning to improvised explosive devices — also called roadside bombs — in their fight against Afghan and international forces. Of the 304 U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan last year, 129 were due to IEDs, according to a tally by The Associated Press.
Also Monday, NATO said a joint Afghan-international force discovered a huge cache of marijuana and turned it over to police for destruction. NATO said the cache contained up to 28,000 cubic feet of marijuana; that's the equivalent of about seven standard semi-trailers.
As the U.S. and other Western nations have tried to help Afghanistan stamp out its poppy fields — the country is the world's leading opium producer — an increasing number of farmers have turned to marijuana, which is receiving less attention from authorities.
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This is no longer news.
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Bush: "Because of American soldiers and our brave allies and friends, who have fought beside them, the Taliban is out of business." March 2002
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Bush: "Our first objective in the first theater against the war against terror has been achieved: The Taliban are out of business." February 2002
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Bush: "Now thanks to the United States and our fine allies, Afghanistan is no longer a haven for terror, the Taliban is history, and the Afghan people are free." August 2003
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Bush: "Today, Afghanistan is a world away from the nightmare of the Taliban." July 2004
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March 20, 2003 - Our attack on Iraq.
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BRING THEM HOME NOW!!!!!!!!
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If a foreign army occupied our land, those of us with courage would be planting IED's... the traitors among us would join the occupiers and fight against their fellow citizens.
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I'd end this war overnight by simply requiring Americans to stand up and pitch in. Universal military service and a war surtax to pay for it. The sunshine soldiers would fade away and find that they are far less warlike when it's them, not a working class kid from West Virginia out there on the frontier.