US soldier sustained injury in southern Afghanistan

A US soldier was injured last Thursday after his vehicle moved over a mine in a restive southern province of Afghanistan, US army spokesman said in Kabul Saturday.

"On Thursday one US soldier suffered severe wounds after an IED exploded and hit his convoy as it was traveling about 30 km southeast of Zabul's provincial capital Qalat," Tucker Masanger told reporters at a news briefing.

The injured trooper, he said, was transported for treatment to US facilities at Bagram 50 km north of here. But he refused to identify the soldier's name or the seriousness of the injury.

It was the second attack on US troops in southern Afghanistan in less than a week. Earlier in an ambush carried out by suspected Taliban in the neighboring Uruzgan province, a US marine was killed and another one was wounded.

The rugged region of southern Afghanistan where the remnants of the ousted Taliban regime is believed to hole up has been the scene of insurgency for the last several months.

In a related incident but first of its kind, a rocket fired by unknown attackers last night slammed into Bagram, the headquarters of 20,000-strong US troops in Afghanistan.

"Last night we received a report of rocket attack on Bagram Air Field. There was no injures or damage reported," the US officer said.

Source: Xinhua