News · AFP: Soldier in US-led force dies after Afghan bomb

# by Luke on 7 July 09

Agence France-Presse
Soldier in US-led force dies after Afghan bomb

KABUL, July 7, 2009 (AFP) – A soldier in the US-led force in Afghanistan succumbed to injuries suffered in a bomb attack Tuesday, taking to 11 the number of Western soldiers killed in the country in the past 24 hours.

“A US coalition service member died as a result of injuries received in an improvised explosive device attack on a convoy in western Afghanistan at approximately 1:00 pm (2030 GMT) today,” the force said.

The soldier’s name and nationality was not revealed, but the force is dominated by troops from the United States.

On Monday, attacks killed seven NATO soldiers, exemplifying the challenges faced by troops in a bid to quell rising insurgent violence ahead of presidential and provincial council elections next month.

Two Canadians and a British soldier also died when their helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing in Afghanistan on Monday, in an incident which the military said was not caused by enemy fire.

There are about 90,000 foreign—mainly American troops—stationed in Afghanistan to help the Western-backed Kabul government defeat an increasingly deadly insurgency waged by the remnants of the Taliban.