US death toll in Afghan war hits 1000

The number of US soldiers killed in Afghanistan has reached a milestone of 1,000.

The most recent casualty was reported by NATO on Friday after a US Army soldier was killed in a roadside bombing in southern Afghanistan, bringing the death toll since the war began on October 7, 2001 to a total of 1,000, the Associated Press reported.

According to the report, at least 313 US soldiers have been killed in the war in the last 10 months — more than the 295 who were killed in the first five years of the conflict in Afghanistan.

At least 675 troops from allied countries have also been killed in the war, according to an AP tally based on reports of foreign governments.

The death toll comes just a few days before Memorial Day, a US holiday in which soldiers killed in action are remembered and honored.

In addition, the US and its allied forces plan to carry out a military operation in the Taliban heartland of Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, public support for the war is plummeting in the US.