Roadside bomb kills 3 American troops in Afghanistan;s south

USPA News - Three coalition service members were killed Friday when a roadside bomb exploded in southern Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said. A U.S. defense official confirmed the casualties were from the United States.

ISAF said three of its service members were killed as a result of an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in Afghanistan`s southern region, which was the birthplace of the Taliban movement nearly two decades ago. But because the multinational force defers the release of specific details to national authorities, no other details about the incident were available, including the exact location. A defense official at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. confirmed three American service members and a military dog were killed in Friday`s attack. The defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, could not provide other details about the circumstances surrounding the deaths. "I`m afraid that`s all the information I have at this time," he said. Friday`s deaths raise the number of coalition troops killed in Afghanistan so far this year to 44, according to official figures. A total of 160 ISAF troops were killed in Afghanistan in 2013, down from 402 fatalities in 2012 and 566 in 2011. A majority of the fallen troops were American and were killed in the country`s south, which is plagued by IED attacks on troops and civilians. Most recently, on June 9, five American service members were killed when they were hit by a friendly-fire air strike after clashing with insurgents in Arghandab district of southern Zabul province. Afghan officials said the foreign troops were hit by an ISAF airstrike after calling for air support to fight off Taliban insurgents. There are currently nearly 50,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, including some 32,800 U.S. troops and 5,200 British service members. Most foreign troops are scheduled to leave the war-torn country by the end of the year, but a security deal expected to be signed by Afghanistan`s next president will likely keep American troops in the country until the end of 2016.