Insurgents kill NATO soldier in southern Afghanistan

[News_Editor]

Insurgents kill NATO soldier in southern Afghanistan

2011-09-24 23:44:37 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL (BNO NEWS) -- A coalition service member was killed as a result of an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

ISAF said one of its service members was killed as a result of an insurgent attack in Afghanistan's south. As usual, the multinational force gave no other details about the incident, including the exact location.

The nationality of the service member was also not immediately disclosed by ISAF. "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.

There are currently more than 130,000 ISAF troops in Afghanistan, including some 90,000 U.S. troops and more than 9,500 British soldiers. U.S. President Barack Obama previously ordered a drawdown of 10,000 American troops later this year, with another 23,000 U.S. troops to return home next year.

So far this year, at least 455 coalition service members have been killed in Afghanistan. Most troops are American and are killed in the country's south, which is plagued by IED attacks on troops and civilians. The deadliest incident happened last month when a U.S. helicopter crashed in eastern Afghanistan, killing 30 U.S. troops, seven Afghan troops and an Afghan interpreter.

On Friday, five coalition service members were killed as a result of two separate incidents in western and eastern Afghanistan. Three Italian soldiers died as a result of a non-battle related injury in western Afghanistan while two other ISAF troops died as a result of an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in the country's east.

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