Bomb blast kills 2 NATO troops in southern Afghanistan

[News_Editor]

Bomb blast kills 2 NATO troops in southern Afghanistan

2011-04-17 08:00:07 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL (BNO NEWS) -- A bomb blast in southern Afghanistan on Saturday killed two coalition service members, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said on Sunday.

ISAF said the service members were killed in southern Afghanistan, without giving other details about the attack. The nationality of the service member was also not immediately disclosed. "It is ISAF policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities," a brief 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.

So far this year, a total of 129 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.

Earlier on Saturday, five coalition service members and four Afghan soldiers were killed when an insurgent wearing an Afghan army uniform attacked an army base in eastern Afghanistan. The Taliban said the bomber had infiltrated the Afghan army about a month earlier.

The combined total from the two attacks on Saturday make it one of the deadliest days so far for coalition troops in the war-torn country.

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