Roadside Bomb Kills 3 Foreign Troops In Southern Afghanistan

[News_Editor]

<p>KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- Three coalition service members were killed Tuesday when a roadside bomb exploded in southern Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said. It raises the number of foreign troops killed in Afghanistan so far this year to 42.

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<p>ISAF said three of its service members were killed as a result of an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in Afghanistan's volatile south. But because the multinational force defers the release of specific details to national authorities, no other details about the incident were available, including the exact location.

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<p>The nationalities of the service members involved were also 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 alliance does also not disclose whether other service members were injured.

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<p>The latest deaths raises the number of coalition troops killed in Afghanistan so far this year to 42, according to official figures. A total of 402 ISAF troops were killed in Afghanistan in 2012, down from 566 fatalities in 2011 and 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.

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<p>There are currently more than 100,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, including some 68,000 U.S. troops and 9,000 British soldiers. Approximately 3,800 British soldiers are expected to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2013, with all foreign combat troops due to leave by the end of 2014.

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