Kabul: NATO announced the deaths of three
soldiers fighting Taliban militants in Afghanistan`s volatile
south, bringing the number of foreign troops to die in the war
so far this year to 112.
NATO`s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)
said one soldier died in a bomb strike on Friday. Yesterday,
another soldier died in a similar attack and a third in a
vehicle accident -- all in southern Afghanistan.
Their nationalities were not disclosed.
According to an agency count based on a tally kept by the
independent icasualties.org website, 112 foreign soldiers have
died in the Afghan war in 2010.
This compares with around 50 at the same time last year,
with a total of 519 foreign troops killed in 2009, the
deadliest year since the US-led invasion overthrew the Taliban
regime in late 2001.
There are 121,000 US and NATO troops in Afghanistan,
whose numbers will be boosted to 150,000 over coming months to
battle militants whose Taliban-led insurgency is concentrated
in southern provinces, mainly Helmand and Kandahar.
The alliance has laid out plans to eradicate insurgents
over the coming 12-18 months so foreign troops can begin to
withdraw.
PTI
