Anderson Cooper talks to U.S. Marines in Helmand Province

A model for success? 3:10
CNN's Anderson Cooper talks to U.S. Marines in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, about the work they're doing to win peace.
At Patrol Base Jaker



Four U.S. service members killed in Afghanistan
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Four U.S. service members killed in fighting in eastern Afghanistan

Two people killed in explosion at Kabul International Airport, six wounded

Official: Suicide bomber struck near gate of military section of airport

KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Four U.S. service members were killed in fighting Tuesday in eastern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said.

The deaths took place in Kunar province in what a spokeswoman called an "ongoing event."

Troop deaths have mounted in Afghanistan this year as American and other international forces have stepped up their fight against the Taliban.

August was the deadliest month for the U.S. military in the nearly eight-year-old war, with 52 fatalities. The four deaths on Tuesday bring the number of U.S. troop deaths in Afghanistan to 13 in September.

Elsewhere, a suicide bomber killed two people and wounded six others Tuesday morning in the Kabul airport's military section, Afghan officials said.

U.S. and Belgian nationals were among the wounded, a Western diplomatic official told CNN. The victims were all civilians, the Interior Ministry official said.

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Heroes of 2 Para: The bloody reality of the war against the Taliban

Heroes of 2 Para: The bloody reality of the war against the Taliban
By Andrew Malone Last updated at 10:00 PM on 31st October 2008


They've suffered the worst death rate since World War II. In the week they came home, battle-scarred Paras reveal the bloody reality of their terrifying war against 'Terry Taliban'.

On parade for the cameras this week, the soldiers of 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment had finally arrived home. They marched through the streets of Colchester, their Essex garrison town, applauded by hundreds of members of the public, friends and family. Tanned and fit, they cut heroic figures just returned from fighting a war on treacherous foreign fields.

Hugging their loved ones in the English rain, the soldiers spoke of their joy at seeing their families after a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan's Helmand province, a place of lethal intrigue known as the Tournament Of Shadows on account of the treachery by warlords vying for control. But this was not an entirely joyful homecoming. This battalion have gained the awful distinction of suffering the fiercest 'kill ratio' since World War II.

It was only after the cameras had gone, and the barrack doors were closed, that this remarkable story of 2 Para's deadly sojourn in the badlands of Afghanistan finally emerged in full.

Their mission was to win hearts and minds among the local population, train the Afghan National Army (ANA) to take over and carry out regular patrols to flush out Taliban fighters lurking in opium fields. In truth, all they really wanted to do was 'kill Terry'.

'We'd been training and training,' said Tom Wilson, 24, who had gone through basic selection with Dan Gamble. 'We'd done lots of live firing exercises. We were itching to put it all into action. But nothing happened. We could walk through villages and chat to the local people. It's not what we expected.' YET THE Taliban, many of whose soldiers repelled the might of the Soviet Red Army 30 years earlier, were simply biding their time.

They did not want fighting to damage their precious crop of opium poppies, used to fund their war against the West. That much became clear during a routine patrol on June 8, almost two months after Four Platoon arrived at Camp Inkerman.

About a mile-and-a-half from the garrison, the 30-strong patrol came across a strange fort built from mud. As they approached the fort, an old man shuffled into sight. The Para's regimental motto - Ready For Anything - was of little use. There was a deafening explosion. The old man was a suicide bomber. With the help of fellow Taliban soldiers, he had packed explosives around his body and covered them with his robes.

Then, as the British platoon approached, he pressed the detonator. It was a deadly new twist to the Taliban's tactics in the Afghan war. The scene was chaotic. Cries of 'Medic, medic!' could be heard above the noise of the fading explosion. Some soldiers fanned out to protect their flanks - and the wounded. Three men had been hit: Cuthie, 19, Dan, 22, and Dave, 19. They were treated at the scene, then airlifted out by helicopter. But it was hopeless. They died from their injuries. All three had been popular figures at Camp Inkerman.
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