A roadside bomb hit a US military vehicle in southeastern Afghanis-tan and killed two soldiers and an Afghan interpreter, underscoring the rising cost of American operations aimed at preventing militants from disrupting the country's first post-Taliban election.
One US soldier also was injured when the blast hit the Humvee on Saturday in Ghazni province, the US military said in a statement.
It was not immediately clear who carried out the bombing about 230km southwest of the capital, Kabul. But the area lies in territory near Pakistan where suspected Taliban-led rebels regularly clash with US and Afghan troops.
The latest deaths bring to about 58 the number of American soldiers killed in action in Afghanistan since US forces entered the country in 2001 to drive the Taliban from power and attack its al-Qaeda allies.
With accidents and deaths elsewhere, including several plane crashes, more than 130 American soldiers have died since Operation Enduring Freedom was launched in response to the Sept. 11 attacks in the US.
Twenty-three of the combat deaths in Afghanistan have occurred this year, making 2004 the deadliest year yet and undermining assertions by American and Afghan officials that militants are on the defensive and security is improving.
Violence has intensified in recent months as the country prepares for the election.
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