Five NATO troops, including two Americans, have been killed in southern Afghanistan.
A statement from NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said one soldier, whose nationality was not given, was killed by a homemade bomb, and two U.S. soldiers died in an insurgent attack on August 7.
Two Danish soldiers were also killed the same day when their armored vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb while on patrol in Helmand Province, the Danish military said.
The deaths bring the overall number of foreign troops killed in Afghanistan this year to 422, according to the AFP news agency.
This June was the deadliest month for foreign troops in Afghanistan since the start of the war in 2001, with over 100 deaths. Sixty-six U.S. service members died in July, the highest death toll so far for the U.S. contingent in a single month, according to AP.
Civilian Death Toll
Meanwhile today, Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission announced that more than 1,300 civilians have been killed in the country so far this year, mostly by Taliban insurgents.
The commission reports that Taliban militants were responsible for about 68 percent of the 1,325 deaths, while Afghan and NATO troops were to blame for 23 percent. "Unknown factors" killed the rest, it said.
AFP quotes senior commissioner Nader Nadery as saying that the new toll shows a five percent increase over the same period last year, citing a nationwide count of civilian casualties by its regional offices.
compiled from agency reports
A statement from NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said one soldier, whose nationality was not given, was killed by a homemade bomb, and two U.S. soldiers died in an insurgent attack on August 7.
Two Danish soldiers were also killed the same day when their armored vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb while on patrol in Helmand Province, the Danish military said.
The deaths bring the overall number of foreign troops killed in Afghanistan this year to 422, according to the AFP news agency.
This June was the deadliest month for foreign troops in Afghanistan since the start of the war in 2001, with over 100 deaths. Sixty-six U.S. service members died in July, the highest death toll so far for the U.S. contingent in a single month, according to AP.
Civilian Death Toll
Meanwhile today, Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission announced that more than 1,300 civilians have been killed in the country so far this year, mostly by Taliban insurgents.
The commission reports that Taliban militants were responsible for about 68 percent of the 1,325 deaths, while Afghan and NATO troops were to blame for 23 percent. "Unknown factors" killed the rest, it said.
AFP quotes senior commissioner Nader Nadery as saying that the new toll shows a five percent increase over the same period last year, citing a nationwide count of civilian casualties by its regional offices.
compiled from agency reports