A US Forces-Afghanistan service member has been killed in an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement posted on its website Tuesday.
However, the USFOR-A or the ISAF did not disclose the identity of the deceased soldier in accordance with their policy of leaving casualty identification procedures to the US Defense Department. In cases of deaths of soldiers from countries other than the US, the ISAF defers identification procedures to relevant national authorities.
According to media estimates, some 360 ISAF personnel have now been killed in Afghanistan so far this year, including 277 US soldiers. Notably, most of the ISAF casualties have been in Southern Afghanistan, where the foreign coalition is attempting to retain control over the territories captured from Taliban militants over the past two years.
Incidentally, the final batch of 33,000 US troops President Barack Obama sent to Afghanistan last year as part of Surge Forces had returned home on schedule in August after successfully completing their mission. Nevertheless, some 68,000 American soldiers remain in Afghanistan to fight Taliban insurgency alongside their NATO and Afghan partners.
Currently, there are over 104,900 foreign troops from more than 48 countries in Afghanistan to contain a resurgent Taliban in the land-locked country. The ISAF has already begun the process of entrusting security responsibilities of several provinces to Afghan forces.
The US and other allied nations involved in the Afghan mission are currently making serious efforts to get the Afghan security forces ready and capable of handling the country's security before the planned withdrawal of coalition troops end 2014.
However, there are wide concerns about the ability of Afghan security forces to counter the Taliban insurgency without the same level of foreign military assistance and presence.
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Market Analysis
April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.