Nato soldier, 5 Afghan cops killed in violence
A Nato soldier was killed in a bomb explosion in eastern Afghanistan Friday, the force said, as authorities announced that five policemen had died in a similar blast.
The Nato-led International Security Assistance Force did not release the nationality of the dead soldier, who became the 145th international trooper to die in Afghanistan this year.
"An Isaf soldier died in an IED (improvised explosion device) attack in Khost province August 1," the force said in a statement.
Five Afghan policemen were killed late Thursday when their jeep was struck by another bomb in the southern province of Kandahar, police said.
Two other officers were wounded in the blast in Panjwayi, deputy district police chief Bismillah Khan told AFP. The policemen were on a patrol in the volatile area when the remote-controlled bomb blew up their vehicle, he said.
The device was similar to those widely used by Taliban insurgents in their attacks against the Western-backed government.
Most of the international and Afghan security forces killed in the country die in bomb blasts, according to security officials.
About 800 Afghan policemen and soldiers have been killed so far this year, according to the interior ministry.
The Taliban launched an insurgency after being ousted from government in a US-led invasion in late 2001. The violence has increased year on year.
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