Roadside bomb kills NATO soldier in southern Afghanistan

[News_Editor]

Roadside bomb kills NATO soldier in southern Afghanistan

2011-06-20 15:31:06 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL (BNO NEWS) -- A coalition service member was killed on early Monday morning when a roadside bomb exploded in southern Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

ISAF said one of its service members was killed in southern Afghanistan as a result of an improvised explosive device (IED). As usual, the multinational force gave no other details about the incidents, including the exact location.

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," 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, at least 257 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. Most of the casualties are American.

On Saturday, four service members were killed as a result of four separate insurgent attacks in eastern and southern Afghanistan. Four other service members died as a result of a vehicle accident, making Saturday one of the deadliest days so far this year.

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