Kabul: A roadside bomb killed four American troops in eastern Afghanistan, driving the July death toll for US forces to the highest monthly level of the war.
The latest deaths brought to at least 30 the number of
American service members who have died in Afghanistan this
month, two more than the figure for all of June 2008, which
had been the deadliest month for the US since the 2001 US-led
invasion drove the Taliban from power.
July`s death toll for the entire US-led coalition,
which includes American, British, Canadian and other forces,
stands at 55, well over the previous record of 46 deaths
suffered in June and August of 2008.
US commanders had predicted a bloody summer after
President Barack Obama ordered 21,000 additional US troops to
Afghanistan in a bid to turn the tide against a resurgent
Taliban and shift the focus on the global war against Islamic
extremism from Iraq.
NATO`s outgoing Secretary-General Jaap De Hoop
Sheffer said yesterday that terrorism would spread through the
world if NATO forces fail in Afghanistan.
"Al-Qaida would have a free run again, and their
terrorist ambitions are global," he said in a speech at
London`s Chatham House think tank. "Those who argue otherwise,
who say we can defend against terrorism from home, are simply
burying their heads in the sand.
Bureau Report
