Coalition spokesman confirms death of soldiers in string of attacks

(5 May 2013) SHOTLIST 1. Exterior of headquarters of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) 2. Flags of ISAF member countries 3. Brigadier General Gunter Katz, ISAF spokesman, walks past camera 4. SOUNDBITE (English) Brigadier General Guenter Katz, ISAF spokesman: "Yesterday, eight ISAF soldiers were killed in different areas of Afghanistan. Five soldiers were killed at an explosion of an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) in the southern part of Afghanistan. One soldier was killed in north Afghanistan and two others were killed in the west of Afghanistan when a member of the Afghan National Army shot at them." 5. Close-up hands 6. SOUNDBITE (English) Brigadier General Guenter Katz, ISAF spokesman: "Please allow me to express my sincere condolences, our hearts and prayers go to the families and the friends of those who lost their lives yesterday." 7. Close-up of ISAF sign STORYLINE The NATO-led coalition on Sunday confirmed the deaths of eight soldiers in one of the deadliest days for foreign troops in Afghanistan in recent months. A spokesman in Kabul said five international troops were killed on Saturday by a roadside bomb in the south of the country. The same day, a soldier with the Afghan National Army turned his weapon on coalition troops in the west, killing two in the most recent of so-called insider attacks, ISAF spokesman Brigadier General Guenter Katz said. Elsewhere in the northern province of Baghlan on Saturday, a German soldier was killed and another one wounded in fighting with insurgents, German military confirmed on Sunday. Their announcement came after a day after the NATO-led coalition forces in Kabul said one international service member had been killed in the north but provided no details. According to German military the soldiers were accompanying an Afghan-led military operation in Baghlan when they came under fire on Saturday. It said the troops called in air support but one soldier was fatally shot later when exploring the airstrike's damage. The military said it assumes several insurgents were killed in the fighting, adding that the situation was still developing. Meanwhile, a coalition spokesman on Saturday confirmed that the troops killed by the roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan were American. The coalition did not disclose the location of the attack, but a spokesman for the governor of Kandahar province said a coalition patrol hit a bomb in the Maiwand district of the province, the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban. The two troops killed by a soldier with the Afghan National Army in the west of the country were believed to be American, according to two US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. If confirmed they were US troops, it would be the fourth time since last summer that seven Americans were killed on a single day in the conflict. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...