2 Americans Slain, Afghan Radio Says

Official Kabul Radio reported Sunday that two Americans were killed in fighting between government troops and Afghan rebels, but a Western diplomat cast doubt on the report.

Kabul Radio, in a broadcast monitored in Islamabad, said two Americans and two Pakistani officers were killed Saturday during an attack by Afghan troops on Muslim guerrilla positions near Gardez, about 60 miles southeast of the Afghan capital of Kabul. It did not identify the Americans.

But a Western diplomat in Islamabad said, “There is no U.S. citizen in Afghanistan on official business.”

The diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he has heard nothing of any American citizens being killed inside the war-torn country.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Nancy Beck also said she knew nothing of the report and added that she could not even say whether any Americans are in Afghanistan.

There have been no previous reports of Americans killed in Afghanistan.