KABUL : A roadside bomb killed five soldiers from the U.S.-led NATO force in Afghanistan on Thursday, officials said, bringing the August toll for the coalition to at least 50, an unusually deadly month.
NATO refused to specify the location of the blast in southern Afghanistan or identify the fatalities. On Wednesday, another NATO soldier also was killed by an explosion in the southern part of the country. Roadside bombs are the favorite and most deadly weapon for Taliban insurgents in their campaign against foreign and Afghan forces.
Afghan officials contacted in various southern provinces were unaware of the incident, which came five days after 30 U.S. troops, one of their interpreters and seven Afghan commandos were killed when insurgents shot down their Chinook helicopter.
Some of the 30 troops who perished in the helicopter downing were members of the same elite Navy SEALs unit that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May.
