U.S. Marine killed by Afghan roadside bomb

updated 8:55 a.m. ET Aug. 6, 2008

KABUL, Afghanistan - A U.S. Marine died of wounds sustained when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in western Afghanistan, the U.S.-led coalition said Wednesday.

The Marine was patrolling in the southwestern Farah province at the time of the blast on Monday evening, the statement said.

The victim was assigned to the 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion, Marine Corps Special Operations Command, it said.

Separately, another coalition unit killed "several militants" and detained two others while searching the compound of a militant commander in the northern Kapisa province on Tuesday.

Bomb-making materials seized
"Several armed militants engaged the force who responded with small-arms fire, killing the militants," another coalition statement said.

The troops discovered bomb-making materials and "barricade-type prepared fighting positions inside the compound," it said.

More than 2,700 people have died in insurgency-related violence so far this year, according to an Associated Press tally of figures provided by Afghan and Western officials.

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