2 Marines Killed During Attempted Prisoner Escape in Afghanistan

An Afghan prisoner shot and killed two U.S. Marines during an escape attempt Saturday in southern Afghanistan.

NATO said Monday that the Marines died while trying to subdue the prisoner who had escaped a room where he was observing prayers. The prisoner grabbed a rifle and fired at Afghan and coalition forces before he was shot and killed.

"The prisoner escaped a room where he was observing prayer time, acquired a rifle and subsequently engaged Afghan and coalition forces. The Marines were killed while trying to subdue the prisoner," NATO said in a statement.

NATO did not disclose the exact location of the prison and said the incident is being investigated.

Elsewhere, an American service member was killed Monday in a bomb attack in southern Afghanistan, and an Afghan child was shot dead the day before during a gunbattle between NATO forces and insurgents in Kunar province in the east, the alliance said.

Sunday's fighting in Kunar started when militants attacked a small U.S. base in Watahpur district, according to Maj. Michael Johnson, a spokesman for the coalition.

Insurgents fired on the outpost and soldiers saw the rounds hit two children nearby, killing one and wounding the other, Johnson said.

NATO also announced that a German unmanned surveillance aircraft crashed Monday in Kunduz province. The statement said the aircraft lost altitude due to technical problems and was destroyed on impact.

In eastern Afghanistan, a suicide bomber approached an Afghan army base about 4 a.m. Monday in Gayan district of Paktika province. An Afghan soldier opened fire and the bomber detonated his suicide vest and died, said provincial governor spokesman Mokhlis Afghan.

At the same time, six militants attacked the Gayan district compound near the base. All six were killed by Afghan soldiers, he said. No one else was hurt in the assaults.

The Associated Press contributed to this report