Attacks in Afghanistan Kill 4 US, 8 Afghan Soldiers
VOA News 23 November 2009
International security forces in Afghanistan say recent attacks in the country's south and east have killed four U.S. and eight Afghan soldiers.
A NATO statement said a bomb Monday killed one U.S. soldier in eastern Afghanistan. On Sunday, three U.S. troops died in gun and bomb attacks in the south.
Afghan officials said a roadside bomb in Helmand province killed three Afghan soldiers and wounded two others Sunday. Earlier Sunday, a border security commander said a roadside bomb in Kandahar province killed five Afghan soldiers.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials have agreed to hand out nearly $39 million in development aid for Afghan provinces that showed a reduction in poppy cultivation in the past year.
The funds are part of a U.S. initiative aimed at curbing opium production by providing aid to provinces that have reduced or eliminated the crop.
The Taliban stronghold Helmand province, one of a few in southern Afghanistan that account for vast majority of the total poppy crop, will receive $10 million under the program. The province recorded a 33 percent drop in cultivation in the past year.
The Afghan poppy crop, which makes up more than 90 percent of the global supply, experienced an overall drop in cultivation in the past year. But analysts warn farmers grew a surplus in recent years that may have been stockpiled for future use.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.
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