8 U.S. troops die in Afghanistan, making October worst month

Eight American service members were killed Tuesday in insurgent attacks in southern Afghanistan, a focal point of the U.S. military campaign to combat the resurgent Taliban. The latest incidents, which came after 14 Americans were killed Monday when three helicopters crashed, brought the number of U.S. personnel killed in Afghanistan in October so far to 55, making it the deadliest month for American service members in the eight-year-old war, and proportionately one of the worst months for U.S. forces in either Iraq or Afghanistan. Seven service members and an Afghan civilian died when their vehicle was attacked with a bomb and enemy fire, said Lt. Col. Todd Vician, a NATO spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul. An eighth U.S. service member was killed in a separate roadside bombing.