Wave of attacks kill seven NATO soldiers in Afghanistan

Wave of attacks kill seven NATO soldiers in Afghanistan

2011-03-01 20:59:30 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL (BNO NEWS) -- A wave of insurgent attacks killed seven coalition service members on Monday and Tuesday, according to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), raising the coalition death toll so far this year to more than 70.

On Monday, four ISAF service members were killed as a result of two improvised explosive device (IED) attacks and one insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan. An IED attack killed a fifth service member in the country's south, while another service member died as a result of an IED attack in western Afghanistan.

On Tuesday, a seventh ISAF service member was killed as a result of an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan. No other details were immediately released.

The nationalities of the service members were 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, more than 70 coalition service members have been killed in Afghanistan. Most of the troops are killed in the country's south, which is plagued by IED attacks on troops and civilians.

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