Roadside bomb attack kills Afghan army soldier, wounds 2

One Afghan army soldier was killed while two other soldiers were wounded Wednesday when an army vehicle set off an improvised explosive device (IED) in eastern province of Khost, the provincial government confirmed in a statement. "The incident occurred along the main roadway connecting Khost city, the provincial capital of Khost province, to Gardez city capital of neighboring Paktiya province at around 11:50 a.m. ( local time) Wednesday," the statement reads. The provincial governor Abdul Jabar Naimi strongly condemned the attack. The Afghan soldiers and police casualties have risen recently as the United States and NATO troops in Afghanistan switched from combat to support role, namely training, advising and assisting Afghan forces. Afghan army took the full operational lead from U.S. and NATO troops in June. More than 84,000 NATO-led troops, with nearly 60, 000 of them Americans are currently being deployed in Afghanistan. The war-torn country is due to take over the leadership of its own security duties from foreign troops by the end of next year.