Insurgents kill NATO soldier in southern Afghanistan

[News_Editor]

Insurgents kill NATO soldier in southern Afghanistan

2011-11-11 18:09:46 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL (BNO NEWS) -- A coalition service member was killed on Friday when he was attacked by insurgents in southern Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said. Elsewhere, an Australian soldier was injured by gunfire.

ISAF said one of its service members was killed as a result of an insurgent attack in Afghanistan's south. But 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.

Elsewhere in southern Afghanistan, one Australian soldier was injured on Thursday afternoon when a joint ISAF and Afghan patrol came under fire from insurgents in the Deh Rafshan region of Uruzgan province, Australia's Ministry of Defense confirmed on Friday. The incident continued for several hours.

"The insurgents, who were armed with automatic weapons, engaged the Australian and Afghan soldiers several times over an extended period of time," said Acting Chief of Joint Operations, Rear Admiral David Johnston. "The Australian soldier was struck by insurgent small-arms fire, approximately four hours after the fighting commenced."

The wounded soldier received first aid at the scene and was subsequently airlifted to the Role 2 Medical Facility at Multi National Base - Tarin Kot. The victim, who was eventually transferred to the ISAF Role 3 Medical Facility in Kandahar, was said to be in a stable and satisfactory condition.

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 Sept. 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 518 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 in August when a U.S. helicopter crashed in eastern Afghanistan, killing 30 U.S. troops, seven Afghan troops and an Afghan interpreter.

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