Two NATO soldiers killed by raids in Afghanistan

KABUL, Aug 27 (Reuters) Two NATO soldiers have been killed in two separate attacks in Afghanistan, the alliance said today.

Both soldiers were killed during attacks on their patrol. One died in the eastern part of the country and the second in the south where another alliance soldier was wounded.

NATO did not identify the victims.

However, the Netherlands' military said a Dutch soldier had been killed overnight by a bomb in southern Afghanistan.

It said the 30-year-old sergeant was in a unit searching for explosives in the province of Uruzgan when the improvised device exploded, Chief of Staff Dick Berlijn told a televised news conference.

A 23-year-old corporal was wounded in the attack but was not in a critical condition, Berlijn said.

The Netherlands has about 1,700 troops in Afghanistan.

Violence has surged in the past 19 months in Afghanistan where more than 100 Western troops under the command of NATO and the US military have been killed this year while fighting a renewed Taliban-led insurgency.

REUTERS RN RK1330