Attack in Afghanistan Kills U.S. Soldier

KABUL, Afghanistan, June 7 -- A U.S. soldier was killed and two were wounded Monday when a bomb exploded near their patrol in southern Afghanistan, while warplanes pounded militants holed up in mountain caves nearby.

Taliban gunmen, meanwhile, killed two policemen south of the capital.

The attack on the U.S. soldiers occurred when a bomb blast hit their Humvee near Deh Rawood, about 250 miles southwest of Kabul in the southern province of Uruzgan, said a military spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Michele DeWerth.

She said all three were flown to Kandahar airfield hospital, where one soldier died. She would not provide further details.

The death brought the total number of American service personnel who have died in and around Afghanistan since the start of the U.S. war on terrorism to at least 91, including 54 killed in action.

The warplanes struck early Sunday near Tirin Kot, the capital of Uruzgan, after U.S. troops had exchanged fire with dozens of guerrillas who sought refuge in caves, said another military spokesman, Lt. Col. Tucker Mansager.

The Americans called in "air support that dealt with those caves," Mansager said. He said no U.S. soldiers were hurt in the battle and had no information on casualties among the militants.

The policemen died when Taliban militiamen attacked the government office in Kharwar, a remote district of Logar province 50 miles south of Kabul, said Gen. Atiqullah Ludin, a local military commander.