Bombs kill five U.S. troops in Afghanistan

Kabul, Afghanistan (News Today) - Bombings killed five U.S. troops in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said.

The military did not say precisely where the incidents occurred, but the statement said the troops died in "improvised explosive device attacks."

Four service members died in one attack and one was killed in the other.

The incidents come during a bloody stretch in the country this summer.

June was the deadliest month for international troops since the war began: 60 Americans were among 102 international troops slain, according to a CNN count of military figures.

This month, more than 70 international troops have died. That total includes more than 50 U.S. service members.

Taliban militants have regularly attacked troops with improvised explosive devices -- the homemade bombs popularly known by the acronym IEDs.

They are considered the weapon of choice for insurgents during the Afghan conflict, and the military regularly conducts raids targeting people who have staged such attacks against troops.

On Friday night, Afghan and coalition soldiers pursuing a militant who plans IED attacks against coalition troops killed two armed men and detained others in the country's east, ISAF said on Saturday.

The incident occurred in Khost province. The troops were hunting down a militant from the Haqqani network, which has links to the Taliban.

"IEDs not only harm Afghan and coalition forces, but approximately a third of the IED attacks wound and kill innocent civilians," said Col. Rafael Torres, an ISAF spokesman.

Source : CNN

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