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Five American troops were killed on Thursday in Southern Afghanistan, according to the Associated Press, as part of a battle with Taliban militants. The deaths occurred in three separate attacks, with four soldiers dying in the same small district of Zabul province—three were killed when an IED hit their truck, and a fourth was shot. The chief commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, is seeking up to 40,000 new troops to add to the 68,000 that will be in Afghanistan by the end of 2009, but the Obama administration is considering other plans.