Afghanistan: Second U.S. soldier dies after gunbattle

A second American soldier died Saturday from wounds suffered the day before in a battle with rebel fighters in eastern Afghanistan, a military spokesman said.

The soldier died hours after Friday’s battle, Col. Roger King said from Bagram Air Base, the headquarters of U.S. operations in Afghanistan.

Both casualties were from the 82nd Airborne Division, said Maj. Robert Hepner, a U.S. military spokesman at Bagram.

The Pentagon on Saturday identified the first soldier killed as Pvt. Jerod R. Dennis, 19, of Oklahoma. Dennis was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment at Fort Bragg, N.C. His hometown was not given.

Kazakhstan: Russian-American duo launch toward space station

American astronaut Edward Lu and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko thundered toward the international space station Saturday as those who stayed on Earth hailed the opening of a new chapter in space travel after the Columbia shuttle disaster.

The launch of a Russian Soyuz rocket was vital to keeping the station manned in the wake of February’s Columbia accident, which killed seven astronauts and grounded the shuttle fleet. It also represented renewed prominence for Russia’s space program.

Lu and Malenchenko set off on a journey taking them for a six-month stay on the space station.

Las Vegas: Military investigating Marine in Iraqi soldier’s death

Military officials are investigating a Marine who says he shot an Iraqi soldier twice in the back of the head following an attack on his comrades.

The Marine Forces Reserve announced the preliminary inquiry of Gunnery Sgt. Gus Covarrubias on Friday, the day the Las Vegas Review-Journal published an interview in which he described the killing.

Covarrubias, 38, of Las Vegas, said that during an intense battle April 8 in Baghdad, he pursued a member of the Iraqi Republican Guard who fired a rocket-propelled grenade at his unit.

“I’m not vindictive, and I might get in trouble for telling you this, but I take it very personally when you do that to my family,” Covarrubias said. “The Marines are my family.”

Indonesia: Reports: Bomb injures 11 at Jakarta airport

A bomb exploded in Jakarta’s international airport early today, wounding 11 people, one seriously, police said.

The blast occurred about 6:30 a.m. behind a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in the departure area of the domestic terminal, said Jakarta police spokesman Prasetyo, who uses a single name like many Indonesians.

No group has claimed responsibility.

The blast comes four days after Abu Bakar Bashir — the spiritual leader of the al-Qaida-linked terror group Jemaah Islamiyah — went on trial for treason. It also follows the arrest Wednesday of 18 members of the group, including three wanted in the Oct. 12, 2002, Bali bombings which killed 202 people.