Taliban rebels firing rocket-propelled grenades killed three British soldiers, the first coalition fatalities since the North Atlantic Treaty Organization took command of insurgency-racked

southern Afghanistan this week. The ambush in Helmand province also seriously wounded a fourth British soldier and was the deadliest single incident suffered by the British since they

deployed in late 2001 to help topple the hard-line Taliban regime. Harrier jets and Apache helicopters strafed Taliban positions and “inflicted some casualties,” said Brig. Ed Butler, the

British force commander. MORE TO READ