US-led troop killed in eastern Afghanistan

At least one foreign soldier was killed in an exchange of fire in the eastern part of war-torn Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) says.

ISAF said in a statement on Wednesday that, “An International Security Assistance Force service member died following a direct fire attack by enemy forces in eastern Afghanistan today.”

The statement disclosed neither his nationality nor the exact location of the incident.

The fallen soldier is believed to be the sixth foreign military killed in Afghanistan in 2014.

The first foreign soldier died in the troubled southern Afghanistan on January 1. The second soldier was killed in Taliban attack on a joint NATO-Afghan military base in Nangarhar Province on January 4.

On January 10, three more US-led forces lost their lives after their aircraft crashed in eastern Afghanistan.

More than 160 US-led troops were killed across Afghanistan in 2013. However, 2010 remains the deadliest year for foreign military casualties with a death toll of 711.

The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but the country is still gripped by insecurity.