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7 U.S. soldiers among 8 killed in IED attack in Afghanistan

By the CNN Wire Staff
A U.S. Marine and Afghan troops carry a wounded soldier away following a deadly bombing in Helmand Province on Thursday.
A U.S. Marine and Afghan troops carry a wounded soldier away following a deadly bombing in Helmand Province on Thursday.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Eight NATO soldiers are killed by a pair of explosive devices, ISAF says
  • Seven of them are U.S. personnel, the Pentagon says
  • U.S. and Canadian troops are deployed in the region
RELATED TOPICS
  • Afghanistan
  • Helmand Province
  • NATO

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Eight NATO soldiers -- seven of them Americans -- were killed Thursday when two improvised explosive devices blew up in southern Afghanistan, according to the International Security Assistance Force and the Pentagon.

A coalition military official said the attack occurred in the Shorabak District, a remote area in the southeastern part of Kandahar Province, approximately 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) south of the city of Kandahar. It's the same region in which Taliban forces unleashed multiple attacks earlier this month in their so-called spring offensive.

The devices exploded one after the other, the official said.

ISAF did not identify the nationalities of the soldiers, but Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said Thursday afternoon that seven of them were American.

Both U.S. and Canadian troops are deployed in the region.

CNN's Barbara Starr contributed to this report