3 U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan

[ProSense]

3 U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan

By FISNIK ABRASHI, Associated Press Writer 47 minutes ago

KABUL, Afghanistan - Three U.S. soldiers were killed and three wounded in a firefight in northeastern Afghanistan after militants attacked an American patrol with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire, a military spokesman said Saturday.

Snip...

Their mission is to crush militants loyal to the Hezb-e-Islami militant group of renegade Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the toppled Taliban regime and remnants of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.

Snip...

Tom Koenigs, the top U.N. official in Afghanistan, told the German news weekly Der Spiegel that the numbers do not reflect success.

"The Taliban fighters' reservoir is practically limitless," Koenigs told the magazine in an interview. "The movement will not be overcome by high casualty figures."

The worsening security situation contributed to a fourfold rise in polio cases this year, almost entirely in the insurgency-wracked south, Afghanistan's Health Ministry said Saturday.

more...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060812/ap_on_re_as/afghanistan

[brentspeak]

1. RIP, brave soldiers

[MaineDem]

2. Governor Baldacci comments on Maine soldier killed in Afghanistan

Governor's Press Release:

AUGUSTA – Governor John E. Baldacci has confirmed that PFC Andrew Small of Wiscasset was killed during hostile fire in Afghanistan. Governor Baldacci says he spoke with Small’s family this morning to offer his condolences on their loss.

PFC Small was on routine platoon patrol when the attack happened. PFC Small was with the 10th Mountain Division out Of Fort Drum, New York. No other details about the incident have been released. Governor Baldacci says flags will be lowered during PFC Small’s funeral. Details on the funeral are not available. PFC Small was 19 years old.

Nineteen years old! What a terrible waste! Fuck you, GW!