2 coalition soldiers killed by bombs in eastern area

NATO was involved in talks to coordinate efforts to fight militants.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Bomb attacks on U.S.-led forces killed two coalition soldiers and wounded four in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday. An Afghan interpreter was also injured.
Afghanistan has suffered a spate of suicide bombings in the past 10 months, but most have been in southern provinces, where remnants of the former Taliban regime are strongest. More than 400 people, mostly militants, died in fighting last month as more NATO forces prepared to deploy to the south.
On Tuesday, a roadside bomb struck a military vehicle conducting security operations in Nangarhar province, killing two coalition soldiers, said Lt. Khrysten Darm, a U.S. military spokeswoman. She said one soldier and one Afghan interpreter were wounded, but she could not disclose the nationalities of the soldiers.
The provincial police chief, Gen. Abdul Basir Salangi, said the attack was against U.S. military vehicles. He had no casualty information.
Earlier in the day, a suicide car bomb hit a military convoy, wounding three U.S. soldiers in eastern Afghanistan's Khost province, along the mountainous border with Pakistan, a military statement said. Two soldiers were taken to a medical facility. The third had minor injuries.
Asphalt melted
The provincial deputy police chief, Gen. Mohammed Zaman, said the attacker maneuvered a car packed with explosives -- including dozens of mortar rounds -- into the coalition convoy before triggering the blast. The explosion was so powerful that it melted asphalt on the road, he said.
A third episode in the country's east -- an explosion in the courtyard of a religious school and mosque -- killed three people and wounded at least seven Tuesday in what appeared to have been a premature bomb detonation, officials said.
Also Tuesday, U.S. and NATO officials discussed regional anti-terror cooperation with Pakistani and Afghan counterparts in Pakistan. The U.S., Afghanistan and Pakistan meet regularly to coordinate efforts to fight militants. These talks in Rawalpindi were the first to involve NATO.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.