The U.S. military says three American soldiers and an Afghan interpreter were wounded in a roadside bomb blast Wednesday in southeastern Afghanistan.
A military spokesman in Kabul said the attack took place in Paktika province near the border with Pakistan. The spokesman said one of the soldiers is in critical condition.
Also, Wednesday, unidentified gunmen ambushed and killed a local strongman and eight other people in the Jurm district of northeastern Badakhshan province.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military says an American pilot has died of injuries sustained in a helicopter crash near the western Afghan city of Herat. It says two other crew members were also injured when technical problems brought down the Black Hawk helicopter Wednesday.
Thousands of American soldiers are in Afghanistan to hunt al-Qaida and Taleban fighters along the border with Pakistan.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.