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Service member killed in southern Afghanistan

KABUL — A U.S. service member has been killed in an insurgent attack in the country’s volatile south, a U.S. military official said, raising to 35 the number of American troops to die in the Afghan war this month.

Also Thursday, two leading candidates in the Aug. 20 presidential election faced one another in an unprecedented television debate — which went ahead despite a decision by President Hamid Karzai not to take part.

Former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah and ex-Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani both cited civilian casualties, searching private homes without permission and arresting people without cause as major reasons for opposition to the presence of U.S. and other international forces.

U.S. military spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Christine Sidenstricker confirmed the latest U.S. death but released no further details. July has already become the deadliest month for American and international forces since the U.S.-led invasion of 2001 toppled the Taliban.

Also in southern Afghanistan, Canadian forces said Thursday that their troops were involved in two shooting incidents, killing a girl and wounding three policemen.

The girl was hit by a bullet in Panjwayi district of Kandahar province late Tuesday. A Canadian patrol fired a warning shot at a motorcycle which was approaching them quickly and was not heeding their warning to stop, said Maj. Mario Couture, a spokesman for the Canadian forces.

The girl was a bystander and was probably hit by a bullet which ricocheted from the ground, Couture said. The man on the motorbike sped away.

A few hours later in Dand district, also in Kandahar, another Canadian patrol fired bullets at a car driving at night without lights in a manner that “suggested to us it was hostile,” Couture said. When the car didn’t respond to signals indicating it should stop, soldiers shot at it, he said.

Three policemen riding in the vehicle were wounded and were transported to a NATO base for treatment, he said.

Kandahar province, where the Canadian troops operate under NATO command, is one of the centers of the Taliban insurgency, which has made a comeback since the Islamist regime was ousted.

The militants regularly use suicide bombers, often in vehicles, to attack Afghan and foreign troops.

Civilian deaths at the hands of foreign troops have become a major source of friction between the Afghan government and the international forces operating here. U.S. military officials say they are taking steps to reduce such casualties.

The issue of civilian casualties and the role of foreign forces figured prominently in the debate aired by Tolo TV, the country’s most watched station.

Karzai had been expected to face off against his two main challengers in the 41-candidate field but pulled out Wednesday, citing a lack of time to prepare and the fact that more of those in the race were not invited.

Jahid Mohseni, the chief executive of the parent company of Tolo TV, said the station hoped to hold a series of three debates, and that Karzai was welcome to join the remaining two.

During the two hour debate, Abdullah and Ghani agreed on most issues, blaming the Taliban insurgency in large part for poverty, corruption and foreign interference and saying U.S. and international forces should remain in the country only until Afghan forces were capable of defending the people.

Karzai is widely expected to finish first in the Aug. 20 balloting, although his main challengers hope to deny him a majority of votes and force a runoff in October.

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Associated Press writer Rahim Faiez contributed to this report.