Four US soldiers have been killed in a roadside bomb attack on their convoy in eastern Afghanistan, the US military said. "Four coalition service members were killed in the attack. It was an IED [improvised explosive device] attack," US military spokesman Major Matt Hackathorn told AFP. The troops were on patrol in Kunar province's Pech district, which is a known area for Taliban activities, when the attack occurred. "The patrol was conducting route-clearance operations to keep the road open to civilian and military traffic," the US military headquarters in Kabul said in a statement. "The extremists that initiated this senseless attack create a significant danger and threat to the Afghan people," Major General Benjamin Freakley, a US commander in Afghanistan, said in the statement.
Provincial governor Asadullah Wafa said the bomb was a remote-control device. He blamed the enemies of Afghanistan for the attack, a term often used to refer to the Taliban.