Coalition soldier dies in Afghan blast as annual death toll nears 700

[News_Editor]

Coalition soldier dies in Afghan blast as annual death toll nears 700

2010-12-15 10:01:57 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL (BNO NEWS) -- A coalition service member was killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said, raising the annual death toll for international troops to nearly 700.

ISAF said the service member was killed as a result of an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in the country's south, but provided no other information about the attack.

The nationality of the service members was also not immediately disclosed. "It is ISAF policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities," an ISAF statement said.

Coalition casualties in Afghanistan have been rising sharply this year, with around 90 fatalities in July alone, making it the deadliest month for U.S. forces since the war began on October 7, 2001 in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

The council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) eventually declared that the attacks of 9/11, which killed nearly 3,000 people from scores of countries, was considered an attack on all NATO nations. The NATO-backed war in Afghanistan aims to defeat the Taliban and other insurgent groups in the country.

So far this year, a total of 694 coalition service members have been killed in Afghanistan. Most of them were American and died in Afghanistan's war-torn southern region. In 2009, the total death toll stood at 521.

On Tuesday, another coalition service member was killed as a result of an IED attack in southern Afghanistan. His nationality has not yet been released.

Last Sunday, six American troops were killed as a result of an IED attack in southern Afghanistan. It was one of the deadliest attacks this year, but quickly followed an attack last month when an Afghan Border Policeman opened fire at American troops in Nangarhar province. A total of six Americans, plus the gunman, were killed.

The victims of Sunday's attack were identified on Tuesday. They were 25-year-old Cpl. Sean M. Collins of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, 23-year-old Cpl. Willie A. McLawhorn Jr. of Conway, North Carolina, 22-year-old Spc. Patrick D. Deans of Orlando, Florida, 21-year-old Spc. Kenneth E. Necochea Jr. of San Diego, California, 21-year-old Spc. Derek T. Simonetta of Redwood City, California, and 24-year-old Spc. Jorge E. Villacis of Sunrise, Florida.

They were all assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell in Kentucky.

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