3 GIs AMONG 6 NATO DEATHS IN AFGHANISTAN

Deadliest day for the international force in more than two months

The Associated Press
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34801568/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

KABUL, Afghanistan - Six NATO service members, including three Americans, were killed Monday in Afghanistan, making it the deadliest day for the international force in more than two months.

The Americans died in a firefight with militants during an "operational patrol" in southern Afghanistan, U.S. military spokesman Col. Wayne Shanks said. He declined to provide on the exact location of the clash or their branch of service pending notification of family members.

The deaths raised to at least 10 the number of U.S. service members killed in Afghanistan so far this year, according to an Associated Press tally.

A French officer was killed during a joint patrol with Afghan troops in Alasay, a valley largely under insurgent control that NATO is trying to reclaim.
Another French service member was seriously wounded in the attack 50 miles northeast of Kabul. There were eight French troops in the patrol, said spokesman Col. Jacky Fouquereau.

NATO said another service member was killed in the clash but did not release the nationality. It said a sixth service member was killed by a roadside bomb in the south.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country has lost 37 troops in Afghanistan since 2001, condemned what he called "blind violence" and expressed his determination to keep his country's forces in the country.
The previous deadliest day for foreign forces was Oct. 27 when eight U.S. troops were killed. Seven CIA agents and a Jordanian intelligence officer also were killed by a suicide bomber on Dec. 30.

Bloody start to yearThe year has gotten off to a particularly bloody start for the NATO-led force; last week, four Americans and one British service member were killed in a single day.

Officials said earlier Monday that bombs killed another American service member and two Afghan road construction workers in separate attacks Sunday in southern Afghanistan.

The southern half of the country, the Taliban heartland, has frequently been hit by attacks as the U.S. military builds up its presence in the area.

Most of the 30,000 additional American troops that President Barack Obama has ordered to Afghanistan will be deployed there.