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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| US soldiers die in Afghan blast | US soldiers die in Afghan blast |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Four US soldiers have been killed in a roadside explosion in southern Afghanistan, Nato-led forces said. | Four US soldiers have been killed in a roadside explosion in southern Afghanistan, Nato-led forces said. |
| The soldiers died after an improvised explosive device went off on Sunday, a statement by Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said. | The soldiers died after an improvised explosive device went off on Sunday, a statement by Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said. |
| Also on Sunday, a British soldier was killed in a separate blast in Helmand province, officials said. | Also on Sunday, a British soldier was killed in a separate blast in Helmand province, officials said. |
| Violence in Afghanistan has reached its highest level since the Taliban regime was toppled in 2001. | Violence in Afghanistan has reached its highest level since the Taliban regime was toppled in 2001. |
| News agency AFP quoted an unnamed Afghan police official as saying that the attack took place in Panjwayi district in Kandahar province. | |
| "We claim responsibility for this attack," the agency quoted Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi as saying. | |
| He called from an unknown location and gave the same location of the strike as the police official, the agency reported. | |
| Troop surge | |
| The deaths are the first US fatalities attributed to hostile action in Afghanistan this year. | |
| US President Barack Obama announced last month he would send 30,000 new US troops to Afghanistan, with a view to defeating the Taliban. | |
| Nato countries have followed by pledging another 7,000 troops so far. | |
| In response, the Taliban said they would step up their fight in Afghanistan. | |
| A Taliban commander told the BBC that if more US troops came, more would die. | |
| More than 900 US soldiers have died in Afghanistan since 2001. |