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Bomb kills 4 U.S. troops in Afghanistan

  • Story Highlights
  • Roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan kills four U.S. service members
  • Separately, woman and girl are killed in crossfire during raid, military officials say
  • Troops kill militants during search for Taliban commander
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KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Four U.S. service members died in a roadside bombing attack, and two civilians were killed in crossfire during a military operation, military authorities in Afghanistan said Friday.

The bomb attack occurred Thursday in the southern part of the country, but the precise location was not available. Two troops died at the scene and two died later of wounds.

In Ghazni province Friday, a woman and a school-age girl were killed in crossfire during a raid by security forces against militants, according to NATO's International Security Assistance Force.

Such civilian deaths during the Afghan war have heightened grass-roots anger against international and Afghan forces, and those forces have worked to stop such fatalities.

"Afghanistan continues to be a dangerous place, and we are genuinely sorry when any Afghan civilians are killed," said Col. Wayne Shanks, a spokesman for ISAF. "Our operational planning tries to prevent any casualties, but our enemy continues to engage our forces without regard for any Afghan civilians in the area.

"However, I believe our partnership with the Afghan forces conducting patrols such as this will bring more security to this area and prevent more innocent Afghans from being killed or injured."

In Wardak province Friday, troops "killed enemy militants and detained several suspected militants" during a search for a Taliban commander. In Paktika province, several suspected militants were detained.

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