U.S. Soldier Killed In Afghanistan

A bomb exploded near a U.S. military patrol in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing one American soldier and wounding three others, the military said.

The attack occurred as the troops were traveling in an armored vehicle in Zabul province's Shinkay district, U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara said.

A purported Taliban spokesman, Mullah Latif Hakimi, claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to The Associated Press. His claim could not be verified.

The death brings to 144 the number of U.S. troops killed in and around Afghanistan since Operation Enduring Freedom began in 2001.

Two of the wounded soldiers were taken to a U.S.-led coalition base near the town of Qalat for treatment, a military statement said. The third was taken to a base near the southern city of Kandahar and was expected to be flown to Landstuhl, Germany, for further treatment. The soldiers' names were not released.

"There will be considerable efforts made to find out who is behind these attacks and prevent more like it," O'Hara said. "This incident will not prevent us from accomplishing our mission."

After a winter lull, loyalists to the ousted Taliban regime and other militants opposed to the U.S.-backed government of President Hamid Karzai have ramped up their insurgency with a series of bombings and other attacks.

Also on Saturday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai called for control of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and demanded the United States take strong action against soldiers who abuse prisoners, following a report of alleged maltreatment of detainees at the main U.S. base here.

Karzai said he was "shocked" by allegations of abuse by poorly trained U.S. soldiers made by the New York Times in its Friday edition. The report cited a 2,000-page confidential file on the Army's criminal investigation into the deaths of two Afghans at the Bagram base in December 2002.

Karzai said he will bring up the issue when he meets American leaders during a four-day visit to the United States starting Saturday.

"We want the U.S. government to take very, very strong action to take away people like that are working with their forces in Afghanistan," Karzai told reporters before leaving Kabul. "Definitely ... I will see about that when I am in the United States."

He also demanded greater control over U.S. military operations here, including a stop to raids by American troops on Afghans' homes without the knowledge of his administration.

"No operations inside Afghanistan should take place without the consultation of the Afghan government," the president said.

But he added that the actions of those responsible for the abuse should not be seen as reflective of all Americans.

"The people of the United States are very kind people," he said. "It is only one or two individuals who are bad and such individuals are found in any military in any society everywhere, including Afghanistan."

The U.S. military, responding to the allegations, defended its treatment of detainees, saying it would not tolerate maltreatment.

The military's spokesman in Kabul, Col. James Yonts, said, "Military and civilian members are expected to abide by the highest standards and when their actions contradict these standards appropriate action will be taken. The command has made it very clear that any incidents of abuse will not be tolerated."

In Washington, White House spokesman Trent Duffy said President Bush was "alarmed by the reports of prisoner abuse," and wants them thoroughly investigated. He said seven people are being investigated about abuse at Bagram Air Base.

"What the military and what the president supported is investigations, holding people to account," Duffy said. "We've taken steps, we've taken new policies to ensure that this doesn't happen again, and we're holding people to account."

The Times reported that the file of the criminal investigation "depicts poorly trained soldiers in repeated incidents of abuse," which in some instances "was directed or carried out by interrogators to extract information."

It reported that one of the two Afghans, a 22-year old taxi driver called Dilawar, had been pummeled by guards for several days and chained with his arms to the ceiling. Most of the interrogators believed he was an innocent man who simply drove his taxi past the base at the wrong time, the newspaper said.

The Army has publicly acknowledged the two deaths and announced in October that up to 28 U.S. soldiers face possible charges in connection with what were ruled homicides.

In December, Pentagon officials confirmed that eight deaths of detainees in Afghanistan have been investigated since mid-2002. Hundreds of people were detained during and after the campaign by U.S.-led forces to oust the hardline Taliban regime in late 2001.

Following the outcry over abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, the military also initiated a review of its detention facilities in Afghanistan and later said it had modified some of its procedures, although the review's findings have yet to be made public.