Bomb Kills 8 Afghans Escorting NATO Convoy

[tekisui]

Source: NY Times

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Amid concerns about security for next month’s presidential elections in Afghanistan, a remote-controlled bomb exploded in the troubled southern province of Helmand and killed eight Afghan contractors escorting a NATO supply convoy on Tuesday, officials said.

The Interior Ministry in Kabul said four other guards were wounded when the explosives detonated close to Gereshk in the northern part of Helmand Province. The security guards were in two vehicles on the main highway between Herat and Kandahar. Dawoud Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Helmand provincial authorities, blamed the Taliban. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Helmand Province is a Taliban stronghold where a force of American, British and other forces have been fighting for a several weeks in an offensive designed to help create more security for the Aug. 20 presidential elections.

Amid the heavy fighting, though, coalition casualties have risen sharply, with at least 69 allied soldiers, including 32 Americans, killed this month. That number includes the deaths of two British soldiers on Monday, bringing Britain’s monthly toll to its highest point since the war’s start in 2001.

more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/29/world/asia/29afghan.html?hpw