KABUL – Two American service members were killed Wednesday when a suicide bomber in a pickup truck attacked a NATO convoy that was returning to base from a mission in the southern city of Kandahar, U.S. military officials said.

The identities of the service members were not immediately released.

A spokesman for the Taliban insurgents claimed that the group carried out the assault, and that 15 foreign soldiers were killed. He also asserted that two armored tanks were destroyed. He named the driver of the truck as Asadullah Kandahari and called him a “hero.”

A spokesman for the U.S. military assistance mission in Kabul confirmed that the convoy was attacked Wednesday morning near its base at the Kandahar airport. The spokesman said there were casualties but did not provide further details.

The Pentagon said Wednesday that two Americans died in the attack, but it did not immediately provide any further information.


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