A Bloody Close to August in Afghanistan

The final weekend of August was a costly one for U.S. troops in Afghanistan, with seven Americans killed. Also, five campaign workers for a candidate in upcoming parliamentary elections were found slain, and a candidate for parliament was shot to death. –JCL

The New York Times:

Seven American soldiers were killed in fighting in eastern and southern Afghanistan over the weekend, after several weeks of declining death tolls among NATO forces.

Separately, in Herat Province in western Afghanistan, police found the bullet-riddled bodies of five missing campaign workers for a female candidate in next month’s parliamentary elections, while another candidate for parliament was shot to death, Afghan officials said Sunday.

The American servicemen were killed in five separate incidents, according to statements from the International Security Assistance Force. On Sunday, an American soldier was killed by an improvised explosive device in southern Afghanistan, while another died as a result of an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan, the NATO force said.

Read more