One U.S. soldier killed in clash with suspected Taliban

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Insurgents killed an American soldier and wounded two others in a fierce gunbattle, the military said Tuesday, violence that underscored the stiffening resistance nearly two years after a U.S.-led coalition ousted the Taliban from power.

The latest battle occurred Monday near a coalition base at Shkin, in eastern Paktika province a few miles from the Pakistan border, spokesman Col. Rodney Davis said from Bagram Air Base, the U.S. military headquarters in Afghanistan.

"One coalition service member died of wounds received in combat and two others were wounded as a result of fighting," Davis said in a statement. "Coalition forces killed two enemy fighters with direct small arms fire."

The U.S. Department of Defense identified the dead soldier as 19-year-old Pfc. Evan W. O'Neill, of Haverhill, Mass. O'Neill was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, of the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y.

'Died a hero'

"He had wanted to be in the military since he was 2," O'Neill's father, Michael, said outside his home early Tuesday, his voice cracking with emotion. "He died for his country doing what he wanted to do. I am very proud of him. He died a hero."

Assaults by Taliban militants and al-Qaida forces -- aimed mostly at Western targets, aid workers and Afghanistan's U.S.-backed government -- have grown increasingly audacious.

Afghan commanders on Tuesday warned it would be hard for U.S.-led forces to root out the guerrillas, who are believed to be based in mountainous tribal regions across the border in Pakistan.

"There is no doubt that the situation is getting worse," said Khan Mohammed, commander of about 3,000 Afghan troops based in the southern city of Kandahar. "The Taliban have regrouped and my troops are battling them all the time. These raids will continue."

The soldier's death brings to 36 the number of U.S. troops killed in action in Afghanistan since the war to oust the Taliban began in late 2001, in addition to at least 164 American soldiers that have been wounded.

The number of U.S. casualties is far less than in Iraq, where American troops have a more high-profile presence, patrolling streets and guarding important sites, making them easier targets.

In recent months, Taliban rebels have dramatically stepped up operations. They waged a fierce battle in late August and early September in the mountains of southern Zabul province in which an American special operations soldier died. U.S. and Afghan military officials say well over 100 Taliban were also killed in that battle.

Last week, suspected Taliban ambushed a pickup truck in southern Afghanistan, shooting to death two Afghan aid workers. Four Afghans working for a Danish charity were tied up and shot to death in September.

"The Taliban is stronger than last year," said Abul Ahrer Ramiz Poor, a professor at Kabul University. "People outside Kabul do not feel safe."

The attacks have motivated Pakistani and Afghan forces to step up operations along the border. But operations have so far been largely ineffective.

Some 11,500 U.S.-led coalition troops are in Afghanistan focused on hunting down the Taliban and remnants of al-Qaida. Some 5,500 NATO-led peacekeepers have been restricted to Afghanistan's capital, Kabul.

NATO leaders in Brussels said Tuesday they were considering expanding their presence to other Afghan cities. Officials at NATO headquarters said the plans could involve 2,000 to 10,000 more peacekeepers fanning out to provincial cities.

Violence like Monday's, however, is likely to raise fears. President Hamid Karzai's government has little authority outside of Kabul, and most areas of the country are ruled by warlords who have their own militias.

While the government is trying to build a national army that would eventually have 70,000 troops and maintain security throughout the country, training is slow and the fledgling force has no more than 5,000 soldiers.

The ability of the Taliban to organize such stiff resistance has raised concern over the power of Karzai's government to bring order to his war-ravaged nation.

"Karzai's government has not done enough to push through reforms," Poor said. "Militia groups have not been disarmed and people are dissatisfied. All this has played into the hands of the Taliban."