U.S. Soldiers Wounded in Afghanistan; Humanitarian Missions Continue

Two special operations soldiers were injured at about 11:15 a.m. local Afghan time when a homemade bomb blew up under the vehicle they were riding in. A second bomb exploded and damaged another vehicle, but caused no injuries. A third, undetonated device was also found, a military spokesman in Bagram said.

The explosions occurred roughly 50 miles northeast of Jalalabad. The injured soldiers were taken to the U.S. Army hospital at Bagram Air Base, treated for minor injuries and released.

Another U.S. soldier was shot in the stomach at Kandahar Air Field shortly before 5 p.m. local time. Officials said the incident was not due to hostile fire, but released no further details.

The forward surgical team at Kandahar operated on the soldier and then evacuated him to the Bagram hospital, where he was listed in critical, but stable, condition. He was scheduled for evacuation today to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

U.S. military forces in Afghanistan continue to perform humanitarian missions. American medical personnel evacuated two Afghans, a 20-year- old man and a 10-year-old boy, from Deh Rawod to Kandahar Air Field shortly after midnight Jan. 16 local time. The two had been injured in a grenade blast. Military officials had no details on how the accident occurred or the extent of the Afghans' wounds.

U.S. troops later evacuated the two to the hospital at Bagram Air Base, where both are listed in stable condition.