Eight U.S soldiers and five civilians have been killed in attacks in southern Afghanistan, including a Taliban assault on a police compound.
Three American soldiers and the Afghan civilians, including translators, were killed late Tuesday when militants attacked an Afghan police headquarters in Kandahar city. Officials say a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle full of explosives at the gate, before militants opened fire on the base with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.
NATO says its forces and Afghan police successfully repelled the attack and were able to keep the insurgents from entering the compound.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
Four other U.S. soldiers were killed in a roadside bombing in the south Wednesday, while one American service member was killed in a gunbattle.
On Tuesday, an Afghan soldier killed three British troops in southern Helmand province. A fourth British service member was shot and killed while on patrol in the province.
The American deaths bring the number of international forces killed in 24 hours to 12.
June was the deadliest month for NATO troops in Afghanistan in the nine-year war, with more than 100 service members killed. The Taliban has stepped up attacks as NATO and Afghan forces try to secure Kandahar and help Afghan leaders establish governance in the spiritual homeland of the insurgency.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
