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Roadside Bombs Kill 7 in Southern Afghanistan


Afghan authorities say two roadside bombs in southern Afghanistan killed seven people late Monday.

The authorities say five Afghan civilians were killed and another one wounded when a roadside blast struck a vehicle in Helmand province.

In neighboring Kandahar province, a roadside bomb hit a police patrol, killing two Afghan policemen and wounding three others.

Police have blamed that attack on the Taliban.

On Tuesday, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper told French President Nicolas Sarkozy he will remove Canada's soldiers from Afghanistan next year unless NATO sends in more troops and equipment to fight Taliban insurgents.

Mr. Harper has already informed President Bush and Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Canada's position.

NATO defense ministers will meet this week in Vilnius, Lithuania.

The refusal of some European NATO allies to send troops to Afghanistan's dangerous east and south has created rifts with Britain, Canada and the Netherlands - which along with the United States - have suffered the most casualties from Taliban violence.

A total of 78 Canadian troops and one diplomat have lost their lives in Afghanistan since Canada deployed troops there six years ago.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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