Two more US soldiers perish in Afghanistan

Two American soldiers have reportedly died in southern Afghanistan in an alleged roadside blast, say the US-led coalition forces.

Reporting on the Tuesday incident, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said, “Two ISAF service members from the United States died of their wounds after an improvised explosive device strike in southern Afghanistan today,” the AFP reported.

The statement did not mention the specific time or location of the explosion.

A total of 317 US forces died last year across the war-stricken country.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in December that the civilian deaths in the first 10 months of 2009 stood at 2,038, up from 1,838 for the same period in 2008. The difference indicated a 10 percent increase in the non-combatant mortalities within the space of a single year, the center added.

Violence in Afghanistan has reached its highest levels in more than eight years of the US-led occupation despite the presence of more than 110,000 foreign forces there.