Afghanistan attacks kill four Nato soldiers
Source: BBC NEWS
A fourth was killed in a suicide car bomb attack near the southern city of Kandahar, which targeted a Nato convoy and also killed four civilians.
The Taliban said it had carried out the attack near Kandahar's airport, an important base for Nato forces battling militants across southern Afghanistan.
The deaths came a day after a roadside bomb killed 11 civilians in neighbouring Helmand province, where Nato and Afghan forces are waging a major offensive against Taliban fighters.
Nato has not released the nationalities of the soldiers killed, leaving that responsibility to their home nations.
Offensive planned
Monday's deaths take the number of Nato troops killed in Afghanistan this year to 105 - more than double those killed in the first two months of last year - according to the independent monitoring website icasualties.org.
There has traditionally been less violence, and so fewer casualties, in the early part of the year because of Afghanistan's harsh winter climate.
Last year, with more than 500 Nato soldiers killed, was the deadliest year for foreign troops in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion of the country in 2001.
The latest deaths come during a major push against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan: Operation Moshtarak is the biggest military offensive in Afghanistan since the Taliban were overthrown in 2001.
In total, more than 15,000 US, British and Afghan soldiers have embarked on a push to clear Taliban forces from Marjah and Nad Ali, in Helmand province
 The early part of the year traditionally sees fewer Nato casualties |
Nato says four of its troops have been killed in three attacks in Afghanistan.
Two Nato soldiers were killed in western Afghanistan, while another died in a small-arms attack in the south. A fourth was killed in a suicide car bomb attack near the southern city of Kandahar, which targeted a Nato convoy and also killed four civilians.
The Taliban said it had carried out the attack near Kandahar's airport, an important base for Nato forces battling militants across southern Afghanistan.
The deaths came a day after a roadside bomb killed 11 civilians in neighbouring Helmand province, where Nato and Afghan forces are waging a major offensive against Taliban fighters.
Nato has not released the nationalities of the soldiers killed, leaving that responsibility to their home nations.
Offensive planned
Monday's deaths take the number of Nato troops killed in Afghanistan this year to 105 - more than double those killed in the first two months of last year - according to the independent monitoring website icasualties.org.
 |
Last year, with more than 500 Nato soldiers killed, was the deadliest year for foreign troops in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion of the country in 2001.
The latest deaths come during a major push against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan: Operation Moshtarak is the biggest military offensive in Afghanistan since the Taliban were overthrown in 2001.
In total, more than 15,000 US, British and Afghan soldiers have embarked on a push to clear Taliban forces from Marjah and Nad Ali, in Helmand province
Comments