The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan has confirmed the death of three of its soldiers in an insurgent attack in the war-torn country's south using a "vehicle-borne" IED (improvised explosive device).
In a website posting, ISAF said the service-members were killed on Monday, but did not identify them or reveal their nationalities in accordance with its policy of leaving casualty identification to the relevant national authorities.
Although ISAF did not say where the incident took place, unconfirmed media reports indicated that the deadly attack occurred in the Zhare district of Kandahar province, and the dead were U.S. soldiers.
According to ICasualties.org, an independent website that monitors military casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan, the latest deaths brought to 62 the number of foreign soldiers killed in Afghanistan this year, with U.S. troops topping the list with 49.
Notably, Monday's attack came just over a week after eight ISAF soldiers were killed in three incidents on May 4, making it the the deadliest day for the coalition forces this year.
Currently, there are over 100,000 foreign troops from more than 48 countries in Afghanistan to contain a resurgent Taliban in the war-ravaged South Asian country. The U.S. remains the single biggest contributor to the ISAF, with 68,000 soldiers on the ground.
The U.S. and other allied nations involved in the Afghan mission are currently making serious efforts to get Afghan security forces ready and capable of handling the country's security before the planned withdrawal of coalition troops by end 2014.
ISAF has already begun the process of entrusting security responsibilities of several provinces to Afghan forces. However, there are wide concerns about the ability of Afghan security forces to counter Taliban insurgency without the same level of foreign military assistance and presence.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com