Afghan bomb kills U.S. soldier, wounds two

KABUL, Afghanistan - An American soldier was killed Monday and two were wounded when a bomb exploded near their patrol in southern Afghanistan, while warplanes pounded militants holed up in mountain caves nearby.

Taliban militants, meanwhile, killed two policemen south of the capital and threw a grenade at a relief group in the northwest - signs that violence is spreading ahead of historic national elections in September.

The attack on the U.S. soldiers occurred when a bomb hit their Humvee near Deh Rawood, about 250 miles southwest of the capital in the violent southern province of Uruzgan, spokeswoman Lt. Col. Michele DeWerth said.

She said all three were flown to Kandahar Air Field Hospital, where one soldier died. She would not provide further details.

Uruzgan Gov. Jan Mohammed Khan said U.S. forces had surrounded the area of the explosion and were not allowing Afghan troops in.

The death brought the total number of American service personnel who have died in and around Afghanistan since the start of the U.S. war on terrorism to at least 91, including 54 killed in action.

The warplanes struck early Sunday near Tirin Kot, the capital of Uruzgan, after U.S. troops had exchanged fire with dozens of militants who sought refuge in the caves, U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Tucker Mansager said.

The Americans called in "air support that dealt with those caves," Mansager said.

He said no U.S. soldiers were hurt in the battle and had no information on militant casualties.

The policemen died when Taliban attacked the government office in Kharwar, a remote district of Logar province 50 miles south of Kabul, said Gen. Atiqullah Ludin, a local military commander.

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