Six NATO troops die in Afghanistan

2 Mar 2010, 8:33 pm   -   Source: AAP
Share This

Six NATO soldiers have been killed while fighting against Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, making it one of the worst days this year, NATO says.

Six NATO soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan in one of their deadliest days this year as the US commander led calls for swift governance following a major offensive against the Taliban.

The military deaths bring to 107 the number of foreign soldiers who have died in Afghanistan so far this year.

All six died on Monday.

More than double the number of foreign troops perished during the first two months of this year compared to the same period in 2009, as thousands more soldiers pour into Afghanistan as part of a strategy to end the war.

One of the six NATO troops killed was a British soldier, who was shot dead in southern Afghanistan on Monday, but nationalities of the other five were not released.

Bomb attacks killed another 10 Afghans on Monday in southern Afghanistan, where NATO commanders are concentrating a US-led surge that will bring the overall number of foreign troops in Afghanistan to 150,000 by August.

The Taliban insurgency, which was launched soon after the 2001 US-led invasion brought down their Kabul regime, has become progressively deadlier for foreign forces, peaking with 519 foreign troop deaths in 2009.

US General Stanley McChrystal is leading a new counter-insurgency strategy - concentrated in the Taliban heartland of the south - designed to capture insurgent bastions, guarantee security and restore Afghan government authority.

Afghan Vice President Mohammad Karim Khalili on Monday visited the southern town of Marjah, where 15,000 US-led troops launched a major offensive last month, accompanied by McChrystal in a bid to reach out to the local populace.

Khalili was the most senior Afghan government official to visit the war-scarred township, which had been controlled by the Taliban and drug lords for years until the February 13 launch of Operation Mushtarak.

"The most important thing is to bring peace and stability to the people in Afghanistan," Khalili told about 300 male residents, sitting on the ground.

"This is a beginning in Marjah. We will be with you. We will stay and fight. We will bring you good governance," he added.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's intelligence service has announced a ban on live media coverage of insurgent attacks, saying that such broadcasts bolster the cause of militants.

The ban came three days after Taliban militants struck at hotels in the heart of Kabul with suicide attackers and a car bomb, killing 16 people - half of them foreigners - in an assault that showed the militants remain a potent force.

The National Directorate of Security told representatives of the foreign media about the ban during individual meetings on Monday at its heavily secured compound.

Saeed Ansari, a spokesman for the directorate, did not disclose specific details about how the ban would be imposed, but said there would be punitive measures taken against journalists who did not comply.

He did not elaborate on what steps the directorate would take against news organisations if they violated the ban.

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube