KANDAHAR: A roadside bomb killed four US soldiers in south Afghanistan yesterday, officials said, the latest fatalities for the Nato-led coalition which is winding down after 12 years of fighting.
In a separate incident, three Georgian soldiers were killed in neighbouring Helmand province when a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle laden with explosives.
The US soldiers died in Kandahar.
“We can confirm that four soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan today,” an International Security Assistance Force spokesman said.
A spokesman for the provincial government of Kandahar said the victims were American. At around 2.30pm, a Nato vehicle hit a roadside mine in Zhari district, he said.
This year, 46 US soldiers and 13 from coalition nations have died, according to the “icasualties” website.
Taliban insurgents, meanwhile, said they had released the final four Turkish engineers held hostage since their helicopter crash-landed in the eastern province of Logar last month.
“The remaining four Turkish nationals were released today as a sign of goodwill and as an Islamic and humanitarian gesture of respect to the Muslim Turkish nation,” the insurgents said in an emailed statement.
“They were delivered to Turkish authorities.” Four Turkish engineers were freed on Sunday. The militants made no reference to a Russian, a Kyrgyz and an Afghan also taken hostage after the crash-landing on April 21 in Kabul.
Four-star US General Philip Breedlove, 57, assumed command of Nato, promising to bolster the 28-member alliance.
In London, Defence Minister Philip Hammond said some British troops will have to stay in Afghanistan into 2015 to ensure the departure of forces is properly managed.
British troops serve around six months in Afghanistan, but those deploying in October will stay for eight months.
Agencies
