KABUL — A roadside bomb killed four American soldiers in eastern Afghanistan today — new evidence of rising violence in a region where clashes and attacks in the first two months of 2009 more than doubled from the same period a year ago.
The spike in violence along the border is an early indication that roadside bombs and other ambushes are likely to surge as thousands of new U.S. forces arrive in Afghanistan this year.
Brig. Gen. Richard Blanchette, a spokesman for the NATO-led force here, confirmed that a roadside bomb killed four U.S. troops in eastern Afghanistan. A U.S. statement indicated the troops were based in Jalalabad.
A suicide bomber, meanwhile, attacked a NATO convoy in Kabul today but instead killed two passersby — among 18 people killed today, officials said.
Clashes and attacks in the eastern province of Kunar surged 131 percent in January and February from the same period in 2008, said Lt. Col. Rumi Nielson-Green, a U.S. spokeswoman.
Bomb and gunfire attacks are up in part because 700 10th Mountain Division soldiers were deployed to Kunar in early January, putting more soldiers in harm’s way.
Kunar’s rise in violence is likely indicative of what the 17,000 U.S. troops that President Barack Obama has ordered to Afghanistan will face later this year. Hoping to reverse Taliban gains, the troops will move into areas of the country where few other foreign or Afghan soldiers have held a long-term presence.
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