Three US soldiers killed in Afghanistan

KABUL, Aug 19, 2009 (AFP) - Attacks killed three US soldiers in Afghanistan, NATO said Wednesday, the latest in a rising toll of foreign troops killed while battling insurgents who threaten to disrupt this week's elections.

Two US troops serving in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were killed in a makeshift bomb attack in the southern province of Kandahar on Tuesday, a military spokesman said.


Another soldier died in a "hostile incident" on Tuesday in the neighbouring province of Helmand, which is another Taliban flashpoint, the spokesman added.

The deaths bring to six the number of NATO troops killed on Tuesday. Two US soldiers died in a bomb blast in eastern Afghanistan and a NATO soldier killed in a suicide blast in Kabul.

The deaths follow a spike in attacks ahead of presidential and provincial council elections on Thursday that Taliban insurgents have vowed to disrupt.

At least 45 international soldiers died in Afghanistan this month, according to the icasualties website that tracks deaths in the conflict.

There are more than 100,000 mostly Western soldiers under NATO and US-led command deployed in Afghanistan to fight against a Taliban insurgency which has seen record attacks this year.

Some 300,000 Afghan and foreign forces will be providing security for the August 20 presidential polls.