US-led soldier killed in Afghan war

An Italian soldier operating under the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has been killed in northwestern Afghanistan, officials say.

The death marked the 17th US-led troops’ fatality this year.

Another Italian soldier was also wounded as troops exchanged gunfire with militants in Badghis province.

Italy, which has a total of 4,000 military personnel in the war-torn country, is currently in charge of the Regional Command West with its headquarters located in Herat.

According to official figures, more than 2,300 foreign soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since the 2001 US-led invasion.

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.

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

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.