Afghan bomb kills 2 U.S. soldiers

KABUL, Afghanistan - A bomb killed two American soldiers and wounded three others in southern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said Saturday, and an attack in an eastern province killed three children and two others on the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The attacks in the wake of presidential elections this month were a reminder of the insecurity still threatening Afghanistan three years after the fall of the Taliban.

Ballot counting from the vote gathered speed after a one-day break, and interim leader Hamid Karzai streaked ahead of his rivals in early returns.

Of 344,000 votes tallied by early Saturday evening, Karzai, the U.S.-backed favorite, had captured 71 percent. That preliminary result was based on 4 percent of the ballots cast.

The U.S. military on Saturday said a homemade bomb hit an American Humvee on patrol in the southern province of Uruzgan on Thursday, killing two soldiers and wounding three others, one of them critically.

Karzai condemned the Friday assault in eastern Kunar province in which a truck was set on fire and then a remote-controlled bomb detonated, killing at least three children and a police officer. He described it as a terrorist atrocity committed by "enemies of Islam."

The provincial governor said five people were killed, but he provided few details.

Some 2,500 election staffers resumed work Saturday morning at eight counting centers across Afghanistan after a day off to mark the start of Ramadan.

Final results are expected at the end of October, although it should be clear who has won within days - and whether the victor secures the majority needed to avoid a run-off.

A top election official has estimated that despite Taliban intimidation and bad weather, about 8-million of the 10.5-million registered voters cast ballots. Counting began Thursday after five days of delays as a panel of foreign experts investigated fraud allegations submitted by the 16 candidates.

Of 343,727 valid votes tallied in half the 34 provinces, Karzai won 244,128, or 71 percent, according to the official election Web site (www.afg-electionresults.org)

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