The brutal winter has mice scrambling to get indoors, and homeowners scrambling to get rid of them.

The fatalities, which bring to four the number of U.S. soldiers killed so far this year in Afghanistan, underscore the difficulties in bringing peace to the war-wrecked country even as Washington has stepped up efforts to find a way to end the 17-year war, America's longest.

Thousands of people were making a grim voyage toward the city of Beira, which although 90 percent destroyed has become a center for frantic rescue efforts throughout the region. Waterborne diseases are a growing concern as water and sanitation systems were largely destroyed.