Afghanistan: 12 killed in shooting and bombings

Bombings and shootings killed 12 people across Afghanistan, including four American troops and three children, as President Barack Obama convened his war council again Monday to fine-tune a strategy to respond to the intransigent violence. The violence has continued unabated despite the tens of thousands of foreign troops already in the country since the 2001 US led invasion. Three US troops were killed in southern Afghanistan; two in a bombing and a third in a separate firefight, while another was killed in the east of the country in a bombing. The deaths bring the number of Americans killed in Afghanistan in November to 15; where as October was the deadliest month for US troops in the eight-year war, with 58 dead.