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Two US-led soldiers killed in Afghan war

Two separate attacks have killed at least two US-led troops in southern Afghanistan in New Year’s Day after 2010 proved to be the bloodiest year in the nine-year-old conflict.

NATO says one of the soldiers was killed in a bomb attack. The western military alliance says the second trooper was killed in a militant attack.

The US-led alliance has not revealed the nationality of the soldiers or the exact location of the attacks.

In 2010, at least 711 international troops were killed in Afghanistan, making it the highest annual death toll since the war began in 2001.

Violence in Afghanistan has been at an all time high in 2010, with both civilian and foreign forces casualties at record levels.

NATO has warned that foreign troops could face yet more violence in 2011.

According to official figures, at least 2,282 US-led soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since the invasion of the country began.

Figures released by Afghanistan’s Baakhtar News Agency, however, put the foreign troop death toll at nearly 4,500.

NATO has admitted to the rising power of the militants in Afghanistan despite the climbing presence of US-led forces in the country, which currently stands at 150,000.

Despite an earlier pledge by US President Barack Obama for a major drawdown of troops from the war-ravaged country by July 2011, American officials recently announced that US soldiers would remain in Afghanistan for at least another four years.

The rising death toll among the US-led foreign forces has prompted growing opposition to the Afghan war in countries that have contributed troops to the mission.

The invasion of Afghanistan took place with the official objective of curbing militancy and bringing peace and stability to the country. Nine years on, however, Afghanistan remains unstable and civilians continue to pay the price.

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