Eight killed in Afghanistan

Eight Nato service members were killed yesterday in Afghanistan, including seven in a roadside bomb blast in the south of the country, the international military coalition said.

It was the deadliest day for coalition forces in Afghanistan since 27 April, when a veteran Afghan military pilot opened fire at Kabul airport after an argument and killed eight United States troops and an American civilian contractor.

Besides the seven troops killed in the roadside bombing, the US-led coalition reported that one Nato service member was killed when a helicopter crashed in the east.

A total of 38 international service members have been killed so far this month, including at least 13 Americans. So far this year, 189 coalition troops have died in Afghanistan.

Southern and eastern Afghanistan are the most volatile areas. Eastern Afghanistan along the Pakistan border, also has been the scene of heavy violence.

Tens of thousands of US, Nato and Afghan forces have been working for months to rout the Taleban from their strongholds in the south. The Taleban have retaliated with assassinations of Afghan officials and attacks on Afghan and coalition forces.