U.S. Troop Deaths Accidental, Afghans Say

By Sayed Salahuddin

KABUL (Reuters) - An explosion at an arms dump that killed seven U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan was an accident, authorities and militants fighting U.S. forces said on Friday.

Thursday's blast near the town of Ghazni was one of the worst single blows to U.S. forces hunting al Qaeda and Taliban in Afghanistan since their intervention in late 2001.

A U.S. military spokesman said the incident was still under investigation.

"Right now, there is no indication one way or the other whether this explosion was related to enemy activity," Lieutenant Colonel Bryan Hilferty told a news briefing in Kabul.

The explosion occurred when the troops were destroying a cache of weapons dating back to the war against the Soviets in the 1980s, according to the secretary to the provincial governor.

"An American patrol was on a mission in Deh Ayen, in the Jaghatu district," Ahmad Jawid said.

"Villagers stopped the convoy and said there was an ammunition depot. The Americans went to evacuate the ordnance, which was stored there from the time of the jihad (holy war).

"They began to destroy it. The incident happened when the person in charge of blowing it up made a mistake."

Ghazni is about 120 km (75 miles) south of Kabul.

Islamic guerrillas led by a resurgent Taliban have stepped up attacks on foreign troops and the U.S.-backed government since August.

The militia claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings in Kabul this week that killed two foreign peacekeepers, but when asked about Thursday's deaths, Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi said they were not responsible.

However he added: "It is retribution from God. We are happy about whatever has happened in Ghazni."

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