Australians among six NATO soldiers killed in Afghanistan
By DPA, IANSMonday, June 21, 2010
KABUL - Six soldiers including three Australians were killed Monday in a helicopter crash and two roadside bombings in southern Afghanistan, officials said.
Three Australians and a NATO soldier were killed in the helicopter crash in the southern province of Kandahar, officials said.
Ten of the soldiers on board were Australians, and the crash was an accident, Australia’s Defence Force said in a statement.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), to which Australia contributes troops, said four soldiers were killed, without giving their nationalities or other details.
“There are no indications of enemy involvement,” ISAF said.
Monday’s deaths came in the same month as two others for Australia, bringing the country’s death toll in Afghanistan to 16.
Elsewhere, two NATO soldiers were killed by roadside bombs in the same region, ISAF said. The military did not reveal the nationalities of the victims.
Monday’s deaths took the overall number of ISAF troops killed in the Afghan conflict to 280 so far this year. Sixty foreign soldiers were killed so far in June, the alliance’s deadliest month of 2010.
The US and NATO plan to increase the total number of troops to 150,000 by August, from more than 120,000 currently based in the country.
