Coalition forces suffer Afghanistan deaths
US military in Afghanistan face fierce resistance from the Taliban
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Saturday, 19, Aug 2006 08:11
Fierce fighting in the east of Afghanistan has led to the deaths of four coalition troops and one Afghan soldier, it has been confirmed.
Three of the fatalities occurred in the eastern province of Kunar.
Although the nationalities of the coalition fatalities have yet to be revealed, all three are expected to be American as coalition forces operating in the region are US-led.
The Kunar province has seen growing fighting in recent months as militant groups cross over the unpoliced mountainous border with Pakistan to regroup and plan their next incursion.
No details have been released about whether Taliban fighters sustained any casualties during the fighting.
Elsewhere, in the central province of Uruzgan, an Afghan soldier and a member of the Nato force policing Uruzgan's southern region were killed after the convoy they were travelling in drove over a mine.
Meanwhile Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai used the 87th anniversary of his country's independence from Britain to urge his people to educate themselves in order to compliment their natural bravery.
"In order to guarantee our independence and prosperity we have to obtain necessary knowledge parallel to bravery," the Xinhua news agency reported him as saying.