Insurgent attacks kill three more NATO troops

Insurgent attacks kill three more NATO troops

2011-01-07 18:25:29 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL (BNO NEWS) -- Three more coalition service members were killed in two separate attacks in southern and eastern Afghanistan on Friday, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

ISAF said one of the service members was killed as a result of an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in southern Afghanistan, while another IED attack killed more service members in the country's east.

The nationalities 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 in recent years, with a total coalition death toll of 709 in 2010, making it the deadliest year for international troops since the war began 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 eight coalition service members have been killed in Afghanistan, according to a BNO News count based on official information. Most troops are killed in the country's south, which is plagued by IED attacks on troops and civilians.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-01-07