The death toll for the war in Afghanistan in 2009 continued to rise today, even as the year slowly comes to an end, as 14 foreigners, including eight Americans and five Canadians, were killed in high profile attacks.
The Americans were killed on base.. They were initially described by officials as “civilians” but later admitted to be CIA agents. A bomber found his way across the forward operating base in Khost Province and attacked the base’s gym in what appears to be a retaliatory strike by the Haqqani network.
NATO says the five Canadians slain consisted of four soldiers and a journalist, who were killed while on patrol in Kandahar Province. The armored vehicle hit a bomb along the roadside, the latest in a growing number of attacks in the restive province.
Meanwhile, though the circumstances of his slaying were not made public, Jordan also lost a soldier. Captain Ali bin Zeid was killed on duty, the first of the nation’s 90 soldiers to be slain since the war began.