Afghan Fighting Leaves U.S. Soldier Dead

[maddezmom]

By DANIEL COONEY, Associated Press Writer
18 minutes ago



KABUL, Afghanistan - Insurgents ambushed a coalition patrol in eastern Afghanistan on Friday, killing one American and wounding three, and setting off fighting that left seven militants dead, the U.S. military said. It was the third deadly attack on U.S. forces in the region in a week.

The clash occurred in Paktika province after the insurgents attacked a patrol of U.S.-led coalition and Afghan forces, a military statement said. The militants fled after the fighting and American forces deployed attack aircraft in pursuit.

"Our patrols of coalition and Afghan forces are relentless in the pursuit of the enemy," Army Brig. Gen. Jack Sterling, deputy commanding general of Combined Joint Task Force-76, was quoted as saying in the statement. "We are deeply saddened by the loss of our soldier and will honor him by continuing to take the fight to the enemy."

Two of the wounded U.S. soldiers were taken to a nearby base for treatment while the third was treated and returned to duty, it said.

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more: http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050610/ap_on_re_as/afghan_fighting_3

[daleo]

1. 15000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, vs 150000 in Iraq (approx)

That is about a 1 to 10 ratio. This has to be borne in mind when considering the level of violence towards U.S. or other western troops in the two countries. Unless there is a big battle, the level of casualties will correlate with the number of troops in the region (i.e. will be related to number of people actually exposed to the risks involved).