7 US Soldiers, 7 Taliban Fighters Killed in Attacks, US Death Toll Hits 1,000 in Afghanistan, May 20, 2010

7 US Soldiers, 7 Taliban Fighters Killed in Attacks, US Death Toll Hits 1,000 in Afghanistan

May 20, 2010

Editor's Note:

The following news stories represent those of NATO media, as the Taliban side of the story is absent. The English version of the pro-Taliban website, alemarah.info, is still off line.

US soldiers provide security during investigations at a site of suicide attack in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Thursday, May 20, 2010. A suicide car bomber attacked a NATO convoy on the main road to the airport, local officials said although there were no reports of deaths from the attack. (AP Photo/Allauddin Khan).

Aljazeera TV reported that six NATO soldiers were killed in the attack, according to Taliban.

U.S. casualties in Afghanistan hit 1,000 with massive Taliban suicide bombing in Kabul

BY Stephanie Gaskell

NY DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Originally Published:Wednesday, May 19th 2010, 12:25 AM

Updated: Wednesday, May 19th 2010, 8:57 AM

Seven U.S. troops were killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday - five in a massive Taliban suicide bombing in Kabul that filled the streets of the capital with blood.

The attack brought the U.S. toll to a grim new milestone - 1,000 American soldiers dead in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001, the independent Web site icasualties.org. reported.

A 42-year-old Canadian colonel also died in the morning rush-hour blast, along with at least a dozen Afghans.

"I saw one person lying on the ground with no head," said Mirza Mohammad, who was on his way to work when a van filled with 1,650 pounds of explosives rammed into a NATO convoy.

"Dead bodies were everywhere," said an Afghan cop. Many of yesterday's dead were women and children who were riding on a bus. Officials said more than 50 other people were wounded.

"A van driving very fast approached the convoy of foreigners and a huge blast went off," said government worker Noor Mohammad.

"I didn't know I was hurt. The explosion deafened my ears and I had a blackout."

The blast wrecked nearly 20 vehicles, including five SUVs in the NATO convoy, and scattered debris and body parts across the wide boulevard.

The body of a woman was smashed against the window of the bus. According to the Pentagon, 1,060 U.S. soldiers have been killed in the overall campaign, dubbed Operation Enduring Freedom, which includes casualties in other countries like Pakistan and Uzbekistan.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who just returned from a trip to Washington, called yesterday's attack "heartbreaking."

The fighting continued into today as Taliban fighters launched a predawn assault against the U.S.-run Bagram Air Field.

Seven Taliban fighters had been killed during the "ongoing attack" on Bagram, which included rockets, small arms and grenades, a U.S. statement said. Five service members have been wounded.

The assault began when U.S. guards spotted attackers just outside the base and opened fire, sparking a gun battle, said an Afghan provincial police commander.

Fair Use Notice

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.