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Two American service men killed in Afghanistan

Wednesday, 26 June 2019 3:46 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 26 June 2019 3:52 PM ]

file photo of US troops in Afghanistan

Two American troops have been killed in Afghanistan ahead of peace talks between the US and Taliban.

The Resolute Support mission confirmed the deaths of the US soldiers on Wednesday, but gave no further details.

The names of the deceased soldiers will be publicly announced after the next of kin had been informed by military authorities officially.

"In accordance with US Department of Defense policy, the names of the service members are being withheld until 24 hours after notification of next of kin is complete," Resolute Support said in a statement.

The latest deaths bring the tally of US soldiers killed in Afghanistan to at least six in the current year.

The deaths came as the United States prepares to hold its next round of peace talks with the Taliban.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said the US soldiers had been killed in an ambush in Afghanistan's eastern Wardak Province.

The Taliban insist foreign troops must leave Afghanistan.

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Last September, the US launched a fresh round of peace talks with the Taliban to end America's longest war.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington was ready to remove its forces from the conflict-stricken country.

"We've made clear to the Taliban that we're prepared to remove our forces. I want to be clear, we've not yet agreed on a timeline to do so," Pompeo had told reporters during his unannounced visit to Kabul, Afghanistan, on his way to India.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, center, Afghan Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah, second right, and former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, first right, meet with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, June 25, 2019. (Photo by AFP)

Following the attack, Pompeo noted that the latest deaths underscored the need to be successful in the mission set in the war-torn country.

"I think this drives home the need for us to be successful in the mission set that we have undertaken in Afghanistan ... (for) a reconciliation, to reduce the level of violence, to reduce the level of risk to Afghans broadly and the risk to American service members," Pompeo told reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Pompeo said he hoped to sign a peace deal with the Taliban "before September 1" ahead of the upcoming Afghan presidential elections, which have already been delayed twice and are now set for September.

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Nearly 2,300 American soldiers have died and more than 20,400 have been wounded in the country since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan that ousted the Taliban in 2001.

The next round of negotiations is scheduled to start on Saturday June 29 in Doha, the Qatari capital.

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