Eight Coalition Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan Attacks

Bloodiest day this year for the occupying force

KABUL, Afghanistan — Eight soldiers with the American-led military coalition were killed Saturday, making it the bloodiest day this year for Western troops fighting here.

Two were shot in an insider attack, one died in a small-arms attack and five Americans were killed when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb, according to statements from the International Security Assistance Force and Afghan officials.

The explosion that killed the five American soldiers took place in the Maiwand district in western Kandahar Province, said Jawed Faisal, a spokesman for the governor of Kandahar. The soldiers were driving toward villages from central Maiwand when the attack occurred, he said. Capt. Dan Einert, a spokesman for the international coalition here, confirmed that the five soldiers were Americans.