US SOLDIER STABBED TO DEATH BY TEENAGER AFGHAN BOY

      New York, 21 Jumadil Awal 1434/2 April 2013 (MINA) – According to reports an American soldier was killed in eastern Afghanistan after beinng stabbed by a teenager Afghan boy, Al Jazeera quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA) as reporting,Tuesday (2/4).

       American officials on Monday said, the American soldier Sgt. Michael Cable 26 was stabbed last Wednesday while he was playing with a group of local children.

       The incident took place during Afghan and American officials meeting in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border last Wednesday.

       Senior American officials quoted by New York Times said the attacker was about 16 years old, but his age could not be verified. He was not believed to have been a member of the Afghan security forces or in uniform.

       In the meantime a senior local Afghan official said the soldier was playing with a group of children outside when the attacker stabbed him in the neck with a knife.

         Zalmai Khan said the young man had escaped to nearby Pakistan after killing the soldier.

         A spokesman for the Taliban group Zabiullah Mujahid said the young man was acting independently when he killed the soldier but had since joined the Taliban movement.

         While the Globe and Mail media at Canada report, the killing comes as the monthly U.S. death toll rose sharply in March to 14 with the start of the spring fighting season when the Taliban and other insurgents take advantage of improved weather to step up attacks.

          The number of American troops killed in Afghanistan has dropped sharply as international forces increasingly take a back seat while preparing to end their combat mission by the end of 2014. But they continue to face dangers ranging from roadside bombs to attacks by their Afghan counterparts or guerrillas disguised as government forces. (T/P09/E1).

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA).