1,000th US Military Death in Afghan War

The US military suffered its 1,000th death in the nearly 9-year-old Afghan war today, according to an AP count, as fighting continued in a remote Eastern region near the Pakistan border for a sixth day. Hundreds of militants have been trying since Sunday to seize control of the Barg-e-Matal district of Nuristan province. Villagers who took part in the fighting said they had killed Taliban commander Maulana Fazlullah during a strong insurgent attack Wednesday.

But officials say they still have no confirmation of the death of Fazlullah, a Pakistani Taliban leader who spearheaded the takeover of Pakistan's Swat Valley three years ago, gaining prominence as the "Radio Mullah" for his vehemently anti-Western sermons on local radio. The 1,000 military death occurred somewhere in the south, where US, NATO, and Afghan forces are gearing up for a major operation to shore up government control of Kandahar, the Taliban's former headquarters. (More Afghanistan stories.)