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Bombings kill 7 NATO soldiers

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published April 9, 2007

KABUL, Afghanistan - Roadside bombs in southern Afghanistan on Sunday left seven NATO soldiers dead, the alliance said, as its forces continued an anti-Taliban offensive in the world's most fertile opium-producing region.

It appeared to be the biggest combat loss for foreign troops in Afghanistan since 2005.

Six troops died and one was injured when one of the bombs struck their vehicle, the alliance said in a statement. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper confirmed they were Canadian troops, Canadian Press reported.

A separate roadside bomb killed one NATO soldier and wounded two, NATO said.

Officials did not release the nationality of those soldiers and did not give details or say where exactly in the south the attacks took place.

The fatalities underline how virulent Afghanistan's Taliban-led resistance remains, more than six years after a U.S.-led invasion drove the hard-line militia from power for harboring al-Qaida.

Separately, a purported spokesman for the Taliban said the kidnapped translator for an Italian journalist was beheaded on Sunday in southern Afghanistan. The Afghan government confirmed the death.

Ajmal Naqshbandi, a freelance journalist and translator, was kidnapped March 5 in southern Afghanistan along with journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo and a driver.

The driver was beheaded. Mastrogiacomo, who worked for the daily La Repubblica, was released March 19 in a much criticized swap for five Taliban militants.

The Taliban made a similar demand in return for Naqshbandi's release.

"We asked for two Taliban commanders to be released in exchange for Ajmal Naqshbandi, but the government did not care for our demands, and today, at 3:05 p.m., we beheaded Ajmal in Garmsir district of Helmand province," said Shahabuddin Atal, who claimed to be a spokesman for regional Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah.

In the eastern Paktika province on Sunday, two Afghan guards were killed and five wounded during a four-hour firefight with Taliban militants near the border with Pakistan, according to the U.S.-led coalition, which is operating separately from the NATO-led force.

Also Sunday, in the eastern Khost province, a gunman riding on a motorcycle opened fire on Afghans working for NATO, killing two of the men.

[Last modified April 9, 2007, 01:24:20]