2 Afghans Die in Blast; U.S. Soldier Killed

A bomb along a busy Kabul road killed two Afghans, and a U.S. soldier and seven militants died in fighting in the east.

The latest in a series of blasts that have rattled nerves in the capital killed a man and a woman riding in a taxi and wounded four others, said Faiz Ahmad Hotaq, a police official.

In the eastern province of Kunar, a U.S. soldier was killed Monday in a gun battle with militants, Col. Tom Collins, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, said Tuesday.

Seven militants also were killed Monday in the eastern province of Paktika in clashes with coalition soldiers.

Collins said the coalition had killed more than 600 Taliban rebels in the last six weeks during an operation with Afghan forces to crush insurgents in the south. At least 19 coalition soldiers have been killed in the same period.

Violence has escalated sharply in Afghanistan this year as Taliban-led rebels have stepped up attacks, particularly in their former southern heartland.

More than 10,000 U.S.-led troops have fanned out across the region. About 21,000 American troops are in Afghanistan, but with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization bolstering its presence to 16,000 from 9,700, the U.S. is expected to withdraw several thousand.