VOA News
29 Jun 2003, 00:02 UTC
A U.S. soldier whose vehicle flipped over in a ditch has become the latest post-war victim in Afghanistan.
The unidentified soldier, who was a gunner in the vehicle, died Saturday after being evacuated to Bagram Air Force Base. U.S. officials said an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the accident, which occurred near a U.S. base at Orgun in southeastern Paktika province, near the Pakistani border.
Meanwhile U.S. troops on patrol elsewhere in Paktika province came under fire by about 10 enemy insurgents. U.S. helicopters were called in for strikes and the attackers fled. No casualties were reported.
The gunbattle was the latest in a series of increasing attacks by rebels in Afghanistan over the past few months. The rebels are believed to be remnants of the Taliban regime driven from power by the U.S. led coalition in 2001, al-Qaida terrorist network members or extremist backers of former Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.
About 11,500 coalition troops, mostly Americans, remain in Afghanistan to pursue guerrillas of the various groups.
Some information for this report provided by Reuters and AFP.
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