South Asia News

Two NATO soldiers, district governor killed in Afghanistan (Roundup)

Nov 9, 2010, 12:46 GMT

Kabul - Two soldiers of the NATO-led international forces were killed in separate incidents in eastern and southern Afghanistan, while a district governor died in a bomb blast, also in the east, officials said Tuesday.

ISAF said one of its soldiers died in a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday and a second trooper was killed in an insurgent attack in the eastern region on Monday.

The military neither disclosed the nationalities of the dead soldiers nor the location of the attacks.

Most of the NATO troops in the south are from the United States, Britain and Canada. US troops are also stationed in the east.

Around 150,000 US and NATO troops are currently based in the country, fighting against the growing insurgency.

According to iCasualties.org, a website that tracks alliance deaths in Afghanistan, a total of 629 soldiers have been killed so far this year, the bloodiest year for the foreign forces since their deployment in 2001.

Ali Abad, the governor of Shewak district in the eastern province of Paktia, was driving to work Tuesday when a roadside bomb hit his vehicle, Rohullah Samon, spokesman for the provincial governor, said.

'The district governor has been martyred. No one was injured in the attack,' he said, adding an investigation was under way to find out who was behind the attack.

Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Nine civilians including women and children were injured when a bomb in a motorbike detonated in front of police headquarters in Badghis province, north-west Afghanistan, said Sharafudin Majidi, spokesman for the provincial governor.

He blamed the enemies of peace, a term often used by officials to describe Taliban militants.

In the northern province of Kunduz, four pro-government militiamen were killed in a Taliban ambush in Imam Sahib district Tuesday, Mohammed Ayob Haqyar, the district governor, said.

Around 1,500 militiamen are currently fighting against Taliban insurgents across Kunduz, according to local officials.

Taliban fighters have been waging an insurgency since the US-led invasion ousted them from power in 2001.

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