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Afghanistan blast kills 3 international troops

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-08-15 09:18

KABUL, Afghanistan -- An explosion hit foreign troops on a foot patrol in southern Afghanistan killing three service members, the US-led coalition said.

The last three months have been the deadliest for international troops in Afghanistan since the 2001 US led invasion. A record number of US and NATO troops are in Afghanistan, around 65,000, exposing more soldiers than ever to increasingly lethal Taliban bombings and ambushes.

The coalition did not release any details about Wednesday's attack, including the troops' nationalities or the blast's location. American forces comprise the vast majority of the US-led coalition, which includes special forces units and soldiers who train Afghan army and police. The 40-nation NATO-led force operates under a separate command.

The nations with the most troops in southern Afghanistan are Britain, Canada, the United States and the Netherlands.

Southern Afghanistan is the center of the Taliban-led insurgency. More than 3,200 people have died in violence countrywide so far this year, according to an Associated Press tally of figures provided by Afghan and Western officials.

At least 93 US troops have died in Afghanistan this year, a pace that would make 2008 the deadliest for American forces since the 2001 invasion. At least 29 British troops have died, as have at least 15 Canadian forces.