The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan said Monday that one of its service-members has been killed in an insurgent attack in the country's east where mostly US troops are stationed.
The coalition force, however, did not disclose the identity or nationality of the deceased, citing the its policy of entrusting identification procedures to the respective countries.
A day earlier, four ISAF service members were killed in two separate attacks using improvised explosive devices (IEDs). While two of the soldiers were killed in an IED attack in southern Afghanistan, the remaining two were killed in a similar attack in the east.
It is now estimated that more than 253 ISAF soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since the beginning of this year, mostly on IED attacks. Of late, the Taliban is increasingly using IEDs against NATO forces, as it avoids direct confrontation with the foreign troops while raising casualties.
Most of the ISAF casualties have been in Southern Afghanistan, where the foreign coalition troops, mainly from the US, UK and Australia, are attempting to retain control over the territories captured from Taliban militants over the past two years.
At present, there are over 130,000 foreign troops from more than 42 countries under the joint command of NATO and the United States in Afghanistan to contain a resurgent Taliban in the land-locked country.
The U.S. and other allied nations involved in the Afghan mission are currently making serious efforts to get the country's security forces ready and capable of handling its security before the planned withdrawal of coalition troops by the end of 2014.
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