Security guard kills two coalition soldiers in southern Afghanistan

[News_Editor]

Security guard kills two coalition soldiers in southern Afghanistan

2011-03-20 19:52:13 GMT+7 (ICT)

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

ISAF said one service member was killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in eastern Afghanistan, while two others died in southern Afghanistan following a shooting incident with a security guard. Details about the shooting incident were not immediately released.

"This incident is currently under investigation and therefore we cannot give you any more information. As soon as there is anything to add we will issue it," an ISAF spokesperson said.

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 90 coalition service members have been killed in Afghanistan. Most troops are killed in the country's south, which is plagued by IED attacks on troops and civilians.

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