US toll in Afghan campaign climbs to 30

WASHINGTON: Thirty US military personnel have been killed in the US-led campaign in Afghanistan, nine of them from hostile fire and the remainder in air crashes and other accidents, according to US defense officials.

The deaths of seven US military personnel reported by US defense officials in fighting Monday near the eastern Afghan city of Gardez was the highest toll to hostile fire on a single day since the campaign began October 7.

Six soldiers were killed in the crash of an MH-47 special forces helicopter, and a seventh was last several hours earlier when another MH-47 special forces helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade while it was on the ground.

On March 2, a soldier was killed along with three Afghan fighters in hostile action at the start of the offensive near Gardez.

On January 4, a US Army special forces sergeant was killed near Khost when a team he was leading came under hostile fire.