Two NATO soldiers killed in Afghanistan

KABUL—Two NATO soldiers were killed and three others wounded in a battle with the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan that also left up to 21 militants dead, the military force and local officials said Friday.
A separate NATO air strike on a Taliban hideout in south-central Uruzgan province also killed 18 militants in the latest insurgency-linked violence to hit the nation, local officials said.
The troops were killed in eastern Kunar province late Thursday when their joint Afghan army and ISAF patrol was ambushed with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades, the force said.
The patrol fought back and called in air support, a statement from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said. “Two service members were killed and three others were wounded during a firefight with insurgent forces,” the statement said, adding that the injured were in stable condition after being evacuated for medical treatment.
NATO does not release the nationalities of its casualties, leaving that task to their home countries, but most of the international soldiers deployed in Kunar province are American troopers. The deaths bring the number of international soldiers killed in Afghanistan this year to 188 as the 37-nation ISAF and a separate US-led coalition battle an increasingly bloody insurgency waged by Taliban militants.
Australia confirmed one of its troops was killed by small arms fire while on patrol on Thursday in Uruzgan province.—Agencies