Afghan blasts kill two US-led troops

Two US-led soldiers have lost their lives in two separate attacks across Afghanistan, NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) says.

“One trooper was killed on Tuesday in the country’s south, and another in the east on Monday in two separate bomb explosion,” a Press TV correspondent reported on Tuesday, citing an ISAF statement.

At least 629 foreign soldiers have been killed in the war-ravaged country so far this year, making 2010 the deadliest year since the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan.

The soldiers’ nationalities or the exact locations of the attacks have not yet been disclosed; however, US soldiers make up the majority of the foreign presence stationed in the east and south of Afghanistan.

The security situation continues to deteriorate in war-torn Afghanistan and US-led forces are killed by Taliban militants on a near-daily basis.

Amid dwindling support for the war as a result of the mounting casualties, top US commander in Afghanistan General David Petraeus has outlined a color-coded timetable for handing over the control of Afghan provinces to local security forces.

Petraeus plans to submit his timetable to NATO leaders at a summit in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon on November 19, The Times reported.

According to the timetable, the control of some areas is handed over to local security forces within six months.

The United States and NATO have more than 150,000 troops in the war-torn country.