2 US troops among 7 killed in Afghanistan

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KABUL, Oct 16: Seven people, including two US soldiers, died in explosions in Afghanistan on Saturday. Three rockets were also fired in the capital, injuring one woman and damaging an apartment building, in the latest of a string of attacks since last Saturday's poll.

Security experts had warned of a possible resurgence of violence after the election, which was largely peaceful despite threats of attack from loyalists of the Taliban.

The US military said two soldiers were killed on Thursday in a landmine blast in the south-central province of Uruzgan, a Taliban bastion, while an Afghan soldier was killed in a mine explosion in western Herat.

Another four people, including three children, were killed in eastern Kunar province late on Friday when a remote-controlled bomb exploded after a crowd had gathered near a truck that had been set alight as it was delivering food to US bases, an Afghan official said.

President Karzai condemned Friday's attack, which coincided with the first day of Ramazan, as "inhuman and un-Islamic".

US military spokesman Scott Nelson said troops and the Afghan government would "maintain vigilance and maintain security and a high presence" to deter face-saving attacks by militants in the wake of their failure to disrupt the polls.

Vote counting started in most areas on Thursday after a delay caused by allegations of irregularities.-AFP

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