CBS: Mortar Kills 2 GIs In Afghanistan

[kurtyboy]

(AP) Two U.S. troops were killed and another eight wounded in a mortar attack at a base in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, the military said.

The attack occurred in eastern Paktika province near the border with Pakistan. The wounded were rushed to nearby U.S.-led coalition bases for treatment.

Initially, a military statement said only one service member had been killed, but spokesman Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara later said that two had died, and eight were wounded. It wasn't immediately clear why the death toll had risen.

The mortar landed in the base near Shkin while the victims were preparing to unload supplies from a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, the military statement said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/08/terror/main700307.shtml

The increasing pace of fatalities in Afghanistan is disturbing--insurgency is now growing there, as with Iraq. Where will we find the troops to counter the threat? (Because you KNOW nobody in power will suggest a pullout...)

[expatriot]

1. The forgotten war heats up

[expatriot]

2. ooh just thought of an awesome political cartoon! brb

[tallahasseedem]

3. Now, now. None of this non-news...

Not while the country is waiting for the Jacko verdict.

[Supersedeas]

13. still waiting on the Jacko verdict....feed them Dean vilification

[lebkuchen]

4. Eight wounded. I'm sure they were just flesh wounds

requiring a mere Flintstone bandaid to stop the bleeding.

[classof56]

7. And certainly not worthy of a Purple Heart.

Good thing, too--I'm sure the budget for them has been cut. <sarcasm>

Rest in peace, Soldiers Two. So sorry you had to die this way.

Tired Old Cynic

[deadparrot]

5. RIP.

...

[u2spirit]

6. What?

We're still in Afghanistan? You've got to be shitting me. I had no idea!

[0007]

8. Why are we in Iraq when the terrorists are in Saudi Arabia?

[Roland99]

9. Or in the U.S., or in Pakistan, or in Indonesia, or...

[0007]

11. Egads, the terrorist are everywhere.

I heard the other day that Iraq did not have one suicide bomber until after the U.S. invasion.

[The_Casual_Observer]

10. According to rw nut bags, the reporting of this politicizes

the deaths of these people, so make no mention of it.

[kurtyboy]

12. I understand now.

But I will still remember the fallen--

1873 US service personnel killed in Afghanistan and Iraq since Nov 2001.

1873

[KansDem]

14. Mortar?

I thought RPGs and IEDs were the weapons of choice for "the insurgents." But mortars?

I thought mortars required trained teams and intelligence to operate. You know, "organization skills." Not exactly the forte of "rag-tag bands of Saddam loyalists who hate us for our freedoms"