US deaths in Afghan war hit record

The American death toll in Afghanistan this year has reached the highest annual rate since the start of the US-led invasion of the country nearly nine years ago.

A total of 323 US soldiers have so far been killed in Afghanistan during 2010, compared to 317 in 2009, according to figures published by the independent icasualties.org website, quoted by AFP.

At 490, the overall death toll for foreign troops for the first eight months of the current year is rapidly reaching the record level registered in 2009, which stands at 521.

The foreign troop death toll in the war-torn Afghanistan is nearing the 2,000 mark, of which 1,270 are Americans.

Since last Friday, separate militant and bomb attacks have killed twenty-five US soldiers in Afghanistan.

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday warned that the United States faced a “very tough fight” in Afghanistan, with more casualties and “heartbreak” to come.

“We obviously still have a very tough fight in Afghanistan,” Obama told US troops in Texas as he announced the formal end to combat operations in Iraq.

“We have seen casualties go up because we are taking the fight to al-Qaeda and the Taliban,” Obama said. “It is going to be a tough slog.”

The increasing number of troop casualties in Afghanistan has sparked widespread anger in the US and other NATO member states, undermining public support for the continuation of the Afghan war.