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6 US Soldiers Killed Near Pakistan Border

Kunar province among Afghanistan's most violent

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 1, 2011 9:53 AM CDT

(Newser) – Six US soldiers were killed during an attack on an insurgent hideout near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan, the Washington Post reports. The deaths that resulted from the helicopter-driven assault are the latest reminder of the US struggle in the isolated Kunar province. The US has lately shifted its attention away from the region—one of Afghanistan’s most violent since 2005—concentrating instead on population centers.

The assault took place near Pakistan's tribal areas, over which its government has little sway. Last summer, the same battalion killed some 150 fighters in the region; afterward, the US attempted to build an Afghan police station there. But when American troops left the area, so did the police. “The police were too scared the Taliban were going to come back and kill them,” said a US commander. “The people are still timid, and the police are timid.” Heartbreakingly, the Post notes that the wife of one of the dead soldiers was included in a November article on the stress Army spouses endure. Click to read it.

An undated photo provided by the U.S. Army shows Staff Sgt. Frank E. Adamski, 26, of Moosup, Conn. Adamski is one of the soldiers killed in the fighting. (AP Photo/U.S. Army)

An undated photo provided by the U.S. Army shows Spc. Jameson L. Lindskog, 23, of Pleasanton, Calif., who was killed in the assault. (AP Photo/U.S. Army)

An undated photo provided by the U.S. Army shows Sergeant 1st Class Ofren Arrechaga, 28, of Hialeah, Fla., one of those killed. (AP Photo/U.S. Army)

Soldiers patrol in Chowkay district in Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan near Pakistan border on Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

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6 US Soldiers Killed Near Pakistan Border

Kunar province among Afghanistan's most violent

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