4 US service members die in Afghan attacks

[Pastor Dale Morgan]

*Perilous Times

4 US service members die in Afghan attacks
*
By HEIDI VOGT
The Associated Press
Monday, November 23, 2009; 10:59 AM

KABUL -- Bomb attacks and a firefight killed four U.S. troops in 24
hours in Afghanistan, the military said Monday, adding to the growing
toll as NATO and the U.S. consider whether to send more forces to the war.

Also, a suicide bomber, targeting a police convoy, killed two civilian
men and three children Monday afternoon in northern Kunduz province, the
Afghan Interior Ministry said. Five others were wounded in the attack.

Three of the Americans died in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, NATO said
in a statement. Two of them were killed in a bomb attack and the third
in a separate firefight.

The statement said a bomb killed the fourth American in the east Monday.

The deaths bring the number of Americans killed in Afghanistan in
November to 15. October was the deadliest month for U.S. troops in the
eight-year war, with 58 dead.
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Meanwhile, Afghan officials said three Afghan soldiers were killed by a
roadside bomb in southern Helmand province.

The Defense Ministry said the bombing occurred on Sunday in Musa Qala
district. It did not give further details and it was not clear if there
was any connection between the Afghan deaths and the American deaths.

In Washington, President Barack Obama called his war council together as
he moves toward a decision on whether to add more U.S. forces as the
conflict in Afghanistan deepens. The president has said he would
announce his plans by year's end.

Commanding Gen. Stanley McChrystal has said more U.S. forces were needed
to head off a U.S. failure in the fight against Taliban militants. He
has recommended about 40,000 additional troops.

In Brussels, NATO said Monday it wants allied nations to commit more
forces to Afghanistan ahead of a U.S. decision on whether to send more
troops.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is in the midst of intense
negotiations on getting more troops, equipment, funding and other
resources for the newly established NATO Training Mission, spokesman
James Appathurai said.

NATO currently has about 71,000 troops in Afghanistan, nearly half of
them American. The U.S. military also has another 36,000 soldiers in
Afghanistan who serve outside NATO under independent command.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, inaugurated Thursday for a second
five-year term, wants more U.S. help to secure his country against the
Taliban-led insurgency.

Although several allies have said they will dispatch some
reinforcements, most NATO nations have so far shied away from making
firm commitments.

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Associated Press writer Slobodan Lekic contributed to this report from
Brussels.