Two American soldiers were killed and two others wounded Thursday during operations in the Taliban hotbed of Kunduz in northern Afghanistan, officials said, in the latest US casualties as the conflict escalates.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the killings, which highlight growing insecurity after the Taliban sought to overrun Kunduz city for the second time last month.
The soldiers came under fire as they were assisting Afghan troops to clear a Taliban position and disrupt the group’s operations in Kunduz, US forces said in a brief statement.
“On behalf of all of US Forces – Afghanistan, today’s loss is heartbreaking and we offer our deepest condolences to the families and friends of our service members who lost their lives today,” said John Nicholson, the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan.
The killings come just days before the US presidential election.
During three lengthy debates between presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, Afghanistan got scarcely a passing mention — even though the situation there will be an urgent matter for the new president.
Either one of them will inherit America’s longest war with no end in sight.
The US military, which leads a NATO mission to train and assist the Afghans after their combat mission ended in 2014, often gives upbeat assessments about Afghan military performance.
Source: AFP
