Kabul: Three NATO soldiers were killed in
Afghanistan today in separate incidents, the international
force said, bringing the number of foreign troops who have
died in the war this year to 117.
One soldier was killed by gunfire and another by an
improvised bomb in the south of the country, NATO`s
International Security Assistance Force said in a statement.
The third soldier was killed by gunfire in the east.
NATO did not give the precise locations of the
killings, or the nationalities of the dead.
Southern Afghanistan has seen the worst violence in
the Taliban-led insurgency.
Last year was the deadliest yet for foreign troops in
Afghanistan, with 519 fatalities reported in the conflict.
AFP`s count of 117 this year is based on a tally kept
by the independent icasualties.org website and exceeds the 77
foreign troops killed in the first three months of last year.
There are about 121,000 US and NATO troops in
Afghanistan, with numbers due to rise to 150,000 by the end of
this year.
About 15,000 US, NATO and Afghan troops have since
February 13 been battling the Taliban in a major assault in
Helmand province`s Marjah and Nad Ali areas.
President Hamid Karzai, accompanied by the
commander of the NATO and US forces General Stanley
McChrystal, visited the town of Marjah today and
appealed to residents to support his government.
PTI
