Two NATO soldiers die in Afghanistan

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Two NATO soldiers, including one Briton, died battling militants in southern Afghanistan as escalating violence claimed the life of an Afghan woman who ran a radio station in the north, the second female journalist killed in a week. The NATO soldiers died in "separate engagements with enemy fighters" in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, a statement from NATO's International Security Assistance Force said, without providing any other details. Britain's Defense Ministry later confirmed that one of the two soldiers was British, but would not reveal the nationality of the other. It said its soldier was taking part in an offensive patrol in the Upper Gereshk Valley area of Helmand province in southern Afghanistan when they came under attack. "The company was moving forward to clear a Taliban compound when they came under fire and the soldier was shot," a ministry statement said. Their deaths bring to 77 the number of international troops killed in Afghanistan this year, according to an Associated Press count. Six have been killed in the last six days, including at least four US soldiers. At least 38 American troops have been killed in Afghanistan this year.