U.S. soldiers, interpreter hurt in Kabul attack

An Afghan soldier guards the vehicle in which two U.S. soldiers were injured in a grenade attack in Kabul.

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KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Two U.S. soldiers and their Afghan interpreter were wounded Tuesday when two Afghans threw a grenade at the jeep in which they were riding, Kabul's police chief and intelligence sources said.

One of the Americans suffered a wound to the eye and the other a wound to the leg. The extent of the interpreter's wounds was not immediately known.

The police chief said the two Afghans -- men ages 35 and 17 -- were attempting to throw a second grenade when they were stopped by police and arrested. They were being interrogated.

Sources said it appears the men were acting out of hatred for the United States.

The soldiers were not on patrol and are not part of the international peacekeeping force that routinely patrols Kabul, military sources said. It wasn't clear what units the soldiers were from and why they were in central Kabul where the incident took place.

In early December, a group of about 10 Special Forces members -- none of them injured -- were attacked while on patrol near Shindand air base in southern Herat province, when they were peppered with large and small arms fire.

Pinned down by the onslaught, a military spokesman said the troops called in "close air support" from a B-52 bomber on patrol over Afghanistan, which dropped seven large bombs, ending the confrontation.

There currently are about 9,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, according to the Pentagon.

U.S. troops have been in Afghanistan since late 2001, when a U.S.-led coalition moved in to destroy the Taliban regime and its ties to al Qaeda fighters, who were being allowed to live and train there.

The U.S. troops are training an Afghan army to protect its new government, headed by President Hamid Karzai.

Fifteen U.S. servicemen have been killed in combat or hostile situations in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led antiterror campaign began, according to The Associated Press. The most recent fatality was on May 19, the AP said.

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