Insurgents kill NATO soldier in southern Afghanistan
November 10th, 2011 - 12:23 am ICT by BNO NewsKABUL (BNO NEWS) — A coalition service member was killed on Wednesday when he was attacked by insurgents in southern Afghanistan, 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. 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.
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.
On Sunday, 35-year-old Staff Sergeant Joaquin Moya Espejo from Spain was killed when he was shot by a sniper near Ludina in Badghis province.
So far this year, at least 515 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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