More US-led troops die in Afghanistan

Three more US-led soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan as Taliban militants make a dramatic comeback in the war-ravaged country.

NATO said in a statement that the troops were killed in two separate attacks in the country’s volatile south on Saturday.

The alliance has withheld the name and the nationality of the deceased soldiers.

The deaths bring to six the number of foreign forces killed since Friday. The fatalities also push the number of foreign troops killed so far this month to 87.

June has been the deadliest month for foreign troops since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

The latest deaths bring the number of NATO troops killed in Afghanistan so far this year to 307.

This is while a massive explosion has rocked the Afghan capital. The blast struck just as the US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff arrived in the country to explain why Washington’s top military man in Kabul has been fired.

Admiral Mike Mullen is expected to tell Afghan officials that the sacking of the top US commander in Kabul does not mean a change in Washington’s war strategy in their country.

Commander of US and NATO force in Afghanistan General Stanley McChrystal was sacked for making comments against the US President Barack Obama’s administration and General David Petraeus was appointed as his replacement.

Taliban militants have vowed to continue fighting against foreign troops in Afghanistan. “We don’t care whether it’s McChrystal or Petraeus. Our position is clear. We’ll be fighting the invading forces until they leave,” Taliban spokesman, Yousuf Ahmadi, said on Thursday.

The rising number of casualties has increased opposition to the Afghan war in the member states of the Western military alliance.

The 130,000-strong foreign presence in Afghanistan has so far failed to establish security in the country.

This is while Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry says only less than three percent of Afghan towns are safe.