Vehicle accident in Afghanistan: 1 killed, 4 injured

A U.S. soldier was killed and another four others hurt when their armored vehicle rolled over in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, the military said. The troops were conducting a combat operation near Kandahar city, a former Taliban stronghold, when the accident occurred, a U.S. military statement said.

"Enemy activity was not a factor," it said. The injured soldiers were rushed to the hospital at the Kandahar Airfield, the U.S.-led coalition's main base in southern Afghanistan. Three of the injured were treated and released while the fourth was flown to an unspecified location for further treatment, the statement said. The cause of the accident was under investigation. The name of the deceased was withheld pending notification of next of kin. The death brought to 207 the number of U.S. troops killed in and around Afghanistan since American-led forces ousted the Taliban in late 2001 for harboring al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, reports the AP. I.L.