KABUL (AP) — A suicide bomber blew himself up next to a group of NATO troops helping to build a bridge in eastern Afghanistan today, killing three soldiers and wounding six others, the alliance said in a statement.
The bomber was also killed in the blast, the statement said. NATO did not disclose the nationalities of the victims or the exact location of the blast.
Most foreign troops in the east of the country are American.
The attack came a day after fighting between NATO troops and Taliban fighters killed eight soldiers — including six westerners — in eastern and southern Afghanistan.
Earlier reports from officials on Monday and Tuesday indicated 29 militants also killed in several recent clashes.
On another front, the Taliban and the South Korea government announced a deal has been reached for the militants to free 19 South Korean church volunteers kidnapped since July 19.
The agreement came after face-to-face talks between the two sides in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Monday he was adding 150 military trainers to a 1,000-person contingent in Afghanistan. The announcement came after months of speculation about France’s commitment to the international force.
“I decided to reinforce the presence of our trainers in the Afghan army, because it is (the Afghan army) that must first of all wage and win the fight against the Taliban,” Sarkozy said in opening an annual conference of French ambassadors.
Speculation that France could withdraw troops surfaced after it pulled out 200 special forces in December, and after Sarkozy said during the campaign that France had no reason to stay long-term.
There have been more insurgent attacks on Afghan and western troops in recent months than at any time since U.S. forces invaded in 2001 to oust the Taliban government, which harboured al-Qaida before and after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.
In the Netherlands, defence chief Gen. Dick Berlijn said a Dutch sergeant was killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan Sunday night near the town of Deh Rawod.
Gunmen shot and killed another NATO soldier during a foot patrol in eastern Afghanistan the same day, NATO said. On Monday, a third NATO soldier was killed and another wounded when insurgents ambushed them using rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons in eastern Afghanistan, NATO said.
NATO did not release the soldiers’ nationalities, but most NATO troops in the east are American.
Another ambush Monday killed three members of the U.S.-led coalition and two Afghan soldiers in eastern Kunar province, a statement from the coalition said. It said the coalition soldiers were advisers to the Afghan army, but did not identify them.
On Tuesday, officials said U.S.-led coalition and Afghan troops had battled suspected Taliban militants in two separate clashes in southern Afghanistan, killing up to 19 insurgents. The clashes occurred Monday in the Musa Qala district of Helmand province and Shah Wali Kot district in neighbouring Kandahar province.
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