US Soldier Among 9 Killed in Afghan Market

A suicide car bomber struck a US military convoy passing through a crowded livestock market in eastern Afghanistan today, killing an American soldier and at least eight civilians and wounding an additional 74 civilians. Yesterday, two British troops were also killed when their vehicle was struck by an explosive while they were on a patrol with Afghan security forces in southern Afghanistan.

Though no one took responsibility for today's bombing, Taliban militants regularly use suicide attackers and car bombs in their assaults against troops in the country. Civilians are the most frequent victims of such attacks. More than 5,400 people, including nearly 1,000 civilians, have died in insurgency-related violence this year in Afghanistan. The soldier was at least the 148th American service member to die there.
(More Afghanistan stories.)