Insurgents Kill 3 Coalition Troops In Eastern Afghanistan

Insurgents kill 3 coalition troops in eastern Afghanistan < br />

2012-07-22 07:26:34 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- Two coalition service members were killed on early Sunday when a roadside bomb exploded in eastern Afghanistan, just hours after an attack killed another service member, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said. It raises the number of foreign troops killed so far this year to 250.

ISAF said two of its service members were killed on early Sunday when an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in Afghanistan's east. But because the multinational force defers the release of specific details to national authorities, no other details about the incident were released, including the exact location and whether any other troops were injured.

Hours earlier, on late Saturday, ISAF said another service member was killed following an insurgent attack also in eastern Afghanistan.

The nationalities of the service members involved in the incident were not immediately disclosed by ISAF, again per its policy. "It is ISAF policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities," ISAF said in a brief statement, giving no specific details.

The deaths on Saturday and Sunday raise the number of coalition troops killed in Afghanistan so far this year to 250, according to official figures. A total of 566 ISAF troops were killed in Afghanistan in 2011, down from 711 in 2010. A majority of the fallen troops were American and were killed in the country's south, which is plagued by IED attacks on troops and civilians.

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 23,000 U.S. troops by the end of this summer, and foreign combat troops are due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

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