KERRY CONFIRMS US DIPLOMAT KILLED IN AFGHAN ATTACK

      Washington, 26 Jumadil Awal 1434/7 April 2013 (MINA) – US Secretary of State John Kerry has confirmed that a US foreign service officer has been killed in southern Afghanistan, Saturday (6/4), according to Press TV report monitored by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA).

        American and Afghan officials said that three US troops and two civilians were killed on Saturday when a car bomber ambushed a convoy of US-led NATO forces in Qalat, the capital of Zabul province. One Afghan doctor was also killed in the attack.

         A US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that at least one of the victims was a US State Department employee. The official also said that about nine other Americans and Afghans were injured during the attack.

         On Saturday evening, Kerry mourned the loss of the foreign service officer, and said he had met her in Kabul last week, describing the officer as “smart, capable, eager to serve, and deeply committed to our country.”

        “I wish everyone in our country could see first-hand the devotion, loyalty and amazingly hard and hazardous work our diplomats do on the front lines in the world’s most dangerous places,” Kerry said.

        Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi claimed responsibility for the Zabul attack.

         Another American national was also killed in a separate Taliban attack in eastern Afghanistan, the US military said in a statement.

         On August 16, seven American troops were killed in two attacks in Kandahar province. Six lost their lives when Taliban militants shot down their helicopter and one soldier was killed in a roadside bombing.

          According to the website icasualties.org, a total of 30 foreign troops, including 24 US soldiers, have lost their lives in Afghanistan so far this year. Six foreign civilians also died in Afghanistan in 2013.

         A total of 3,279 foreign soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since the US-led war began in 2001.

         The increasing number of military casualties in Afghanistan has caused widespread anger in the US and other NATO member states, undermining public support for the Afghan war.

         The US-led war in Afghanistan began in October 2001. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues to rise across Afghanistan, despite the presence of about 100,000 US-led troops. (T/P09/E1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA).