War roundup

A mine blasted a bus carrying a wedding party in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing at least 10 civilians.

Provincial police chief Matiullah Khan blamed Taliban insurgents for planting the explosive in the Spin Boldak district of southern Kandahar Province.

Khan said the bride and groom were among the dead, but an Associated Press cameraman later interviewed the relatives of a wounded, unconscious man who was said to be the groom. It was not immediately possible to reconcile the accounts.

Six people were wounded, and Khan said children were among the victims.

Meanwhile, U.S.-led coalition troops used airstrikes to kill more than a dozen Taliban gunmen in southern Afghanistan. The troops were on a joint patrol with Afghan forces when their convoy was struck by a roadside bomb in Uruzgan Province on Friday, the coalition said in a statement.

The U.S. command says two American soldiers have been accused of killing an Iraqi detainee and lying about it.

Staff Sgt. Hal M. Warner and 1st Lt. Michael C. Behenna both face charges of premeditated murder, assault, making a false official statement and obstructing justice, according to a military statement. It says Warner also faces a charge of accessory after the fact.

A bomb exploded at a bridge on Saturday, killing at least nine security forces in a valley where troops are battling Islamic extremists.

Police officer Bashir Khan said the remote-controlled bomb hit a vehicle traveling from police headquarters in Mingora, the main town in the troubled Swat Valley, as it carried money to pay the salaries of the staff in the nearby town of Kabal.

Security forces are fighting pro-Taliban extremists despite a May peace deal.

The commander of the Guantanamo Bay detention center said Saturday he has been researching new potential accommodations for Osama bin Laden's driver, who could be held indefinitely regardless of the verdict at his war-crimes trial.

A jury of U.S. military officers is expected to begin deliberations Monday in the case of Salim Hamdan, a Yemeni who faces a maximum life sentence on charges of conspiracy and supporting terrorism.

Even if he is found innocent, he may not leave the U.S. Navy base in Cuba. The military retains the right to hold those considered to pose a threat to the United States -- even those who have been cleared of charges.

NEWS SERVICES