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7 U.S. Soldiers Dead In Taliban Bombing In Afghanistan
7 U.S. Soldiers Dead In Taliban Bombing In Afghanistan
![r-US-SOLDIERS-large570.jpg](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi.huffpost.com%2Fgen%2F282837%2Fthumbs%2Fr-US-SOLDIERS-large570.jpg&hash=e6e9bee6568b8b31216263823ff91642)
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Eight NATO service members were killed Thursday in Afghanistan, including seven U.S. troops who died when a powerful bomb exploded in a field where they were patrolling on foot, officials said.
Two Afghan policemen also died and two others were wounded in the explosion in mountainous Shorabak district of Kandahar province, 12 miles (19 kilometers) from the Pakistan border, said Gen. Abdul Raziq, chief of the Afghan border police in the province.
"Two months ago, we cleared this area of terrorists, but still they are active there," Raziq said.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast.
"A bomb was planted for them in a field," Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi told The Associated Press in a telephone call.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the information, confirmed that seven American service members died in the bombing.
The international military coalition reported that one additional NATO service member was killed Thursday when a helicopter crashed in the east.
It was the deadliest day for coalition forces in Afghanistan since April 27, when a veteran Afghan military pilot opened fire at Kabul airport and killed eight U.S. troops and an American civilian contractor.
Thursday's blast was the worst single attack against NATO forces by one of the Taliban's crude, homemade bombs since October 2009. Seven soldiers from a unit based in Fort Lewis, Washington, died Oct. 27, 2009 when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Arghandab district, also in Kandahar province.
7 U.S. Soldiers Dead In Taliban Bombing In Afghanistan