JALALABAD, Afghanistan — Three civilians were killed after a roadside bomb hit a convoy of American soldiers early Monday in Nangarhar Province in eastern Afghanistan, according to Afghan officials in the area.
The civilians were killed when soldiers opened fire after the explosion, according to Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar.
The United States military said that none of its personnel had been wounded. It added that though there was an exchange of gunfire after the bombing, it had received no official reports of civilian casualties.
“We take civilian casualties very seriously, and all allegations are thoroughly investigated,” the military said in a news release.
All six of the American soldiers who have been killed in Afghanistan so far in 2017 have died in Nangarhar Province while fighting the Islamic State. The most recent three died on Saturday in an apparent insider attack. They were identified on Monday as soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division: Sgt. Eric M. Houck, 25, of Baltimore; Sgt. William M. Bays, 29, of Barstow, Calif.; and Cpl. Dillon C. Baldridge, 22, of Youngsville, N.C.
A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility for the attack on Saturday, which took place in Ghanikhel district, bordering on the Islamic State stronghold of Achin district.
Correction: June 12, 2017
An earlier version of this article described incorrectly the American soldiers killed in Afghanistan so far in 2017. Three of them belonged to the Special Operations forces, not six (the other three were Army paratroopers).
JALALABAD, Afghanistan — Three civilians were killed after a roadside bomb hit a convoy of American soldiers early Monday in Nangarhar Province in eastern Afghanistan, according to Afghan officials in the area. The civilians were killed when soldiers opened fire after the explosion, according to Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar.
The United States military said that none of its personnel had been wounded. It added that though there was an exchange of gunfire after the bombing, it had received no official reports of civilian casualties.
“We take civilian casualties very seriously, and all allegations are thoroughly investigated,” the military said in a news release.
All six of the American soldiers who have been killed in Afghanistan so far in 2017 have died in Nangarhar Province while fighting the Islamic State. The most recent three died on Saturday in an apparent insider attack. They were identified on Monday as soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division: Sgt. Eric M. Houck, 25, of Baltimore; Sgt. William M. Bays, 29, of Barstow, Calif.; and Cpl. Dillon C. Baldridge, 22, of Youngsville, N.C.
A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility for the attack on Saturday, which took place in Ghanikhel district, bordering on the Islamic State stronghold of Achin district.
Correction: June 12, 2017
An earlier version of this article described incorrectly the American soldiers killed in Afghanistan so far in 2017. Three of them belonged to the Special Operations forces, not six (the other three were Army paratroopers).
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