U.S. Patrol Hit in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — Militants attacked a U.S. patrol with rocket-propelled grenades, killing three Americans in Afghanistan’s northeast, one of the wildest regions in the country, an official said Saturday.

U.S. troops used artillery to repel the attack in Nuristan province Friday, Col. Tom Collins said.

Three U.S. soldiers and a civilian were wounded in the clash, which occurred in the Waygal district. American forces are hunting for Taliban fighters and extremists close to Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network in remote mountains along the Pakistani border.

In the restive southeastern Ghazni province, gunmen killed a former deputy governor outside his home, months after his former boss was assassinated in an ambush, an official said.

Abdul Hakim was shot Friday night when he left his house, a spokesman said. In March, militants ambushed former Gov. Taj Mohammed near his home, killing him and four others.

A British soldier was killed Saturday in a vehicle accident in the southern province of Helmand, a British Defense Ministry spokesman said.