U.S. SOLDIER KILLED, 2ND WOUNDED BY ROADSIDE BOMB IN AFGHANISTAN

Kabul — An American service member was killed by a roadside bomb Tuesday in southern Afghanistan in what military officials said was the first casualty of stepped-up U.S. operations in beleaguered Helmand province. Six Afghan soldiers and an American were also wounded when their vehicle struck the roadside bomb while on patrol near the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah. The Pentagon did not release the name of the U.S. soldier killed because of its longistanding policy to first notify family members.