Washington, December 24 (RHC)-- The Pentagon says a U.S. soldier was killed in Afghanistan on Monday, and a second U.S. soldier was injured.  The Taliban claimed responsibility for the killing in Kunduz province.

The U.S. soldier’s death comes as Afghan officials released long-awaited preliminary results from September’s election, which show President Ashraf Ghani won just over 50% of the votes.  His challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, is contesting the election, which he says was marred by fraud.  Voter turnout was low, and some residents of the capital Kabul said they supported neither candidate.

One protest organizer, Mullah Jan, said: “Both Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah haven’t done anything for us in the past five years.  They just deceived the people, and we don’t want them anymore.  They both have committed fraud, and the court must try them.”