Soldier killed, security guards injured in Afghanistan

KABUL - A NATO soldier was killed in combat in southern Afghanistan and four private security guards were injured in an ambush on their convoy, officials said Sunday

The International Security Assistance Force said one of its troops died following an attack in the volatile region, but did not disclose the location or the soldier’s nationality.

Most of the NATO soldiers stationed in southern provinces are from the US, Britain, Canada and the Netherlands.

The death brought the total number of foreign soldiers killed in the conflict this year to 197, according to iCasualties.org, a website that tracks coalition fatalities in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Four private security guards escorting NATO supply trucks in the southern province of Kandahar were injured when rebels attacked their convoy in Zherai district, the Interior Ministry said Sunday.

The attack occurred Saturday, one day after five security guards and six Taliban fighters were killed in a clash in the province of Ghazni.

Police found a vehicle with three dead insurgents in Dashti Archi district of northern Kunduz province, while one Taliban fighter was killed and two others were captured by police in the south-eastern province of Paktia Saturday, the ministry said.

NATO officials have warned of “tough fighting” in the summer, when the total number of foreign troops are set to peak at 150,000, from the current 130,000 level.