Taliban kills four US soldiers

Four US soldiers were killed and one wounded in a battle with Taliban insurgents on June 21 in the far northeastern region of Afghanistan. The latest casualties came during military operations against insurgents across eastern and southern Afghanistan, and as the fugitive second in command of al-Qaida, Ayman al-Zawahiri, called on Afghans to rise up against the foreign forces in the country. The four soldiers were killed in the mountainous province of Nuristan, one of the country's most inaccessible regions, "while conducting security operations to interdict enemy movement through northern Nuristan," the US military said in a statement. Coalition aircraft joined the fighting, but it was not clear how many rebels were killed, the military said. The wounded soldier was in stable condition. Suspected Taliban militants also bombed two coalition convoys in southern Afghanistan on June 20, killing a civilian bystander and wounding 13 people, including six Canadian soldiers, the US military said. Violence has increased sharply in Afghanistan in recent weeks, as suspected Taliban insurgents have appeared in large numbers across the south and east, attacking government and foreign forces. Military officials say the attacks are an attempt to thwart NATO forces as they move in to take over command of southern Afghanistan from US forces.