Eight U.S. soldiers died in two attacks in Kandahar province in Afghanistan on Tuesday, making October the deadliest month for U.S. forces since they entered the country in 2001.
U.S forces spokesman Lt.-Col. Todd Vician said seven soldiers died in one attack while they were patrolling in armoured vehicles. An Afghan citizen also died in that attack.
The eighth U.S. soldier died in a separate attack.
The U.S. military issued a statement saying the soldiers died in "multiple, complex" bomb strikes. It said an undisclosed number of troops were wounded and evacuated to a nearby medical facility.
The deaths Tuesday brought the total of U.S. military dead in Afghanistan in October to 55. The previous high of 51 deaths occurred in August during a wave of Taliban attacks in the run-up to the first round of voting in the Afghan presidential election.
The deadliest month for U.S. forces in Iraq was November 2004, when 137 Americans were killed during the push to clear insurgents from the city of Fallujah.
