Two NATO soldiers hurt in Afghan suicide raid

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Nov 1 (Reuters) A suicide bomber hit a NATO convoy in southern Afghanistan today, wounding two soldiers, the force said, the latest attack in the bloodiest wave of militant violence since the Taliban's ouster.

The pair were evacuated by helicopter soon after the car attack, which took place close to a small bazaar on the main highway leading to a NATO base outside Kandahar city, an official for the alliance in the area said.

Afghanistan has this year seen the most intense violence since US-led forces overthrew the Taliban government in 2001.

Over 3,100 have been killed in the Taliban-led insurgency and operations by foreign forces in the past 10 months.

The deaths also include some 150 foreign troops killed during combat, mostly in the country's eastern and southern areas close to the border with Pakistan.

Yesterday, three NATO soldiers were killed after a roadside bomb hit their convoy in the eastern province of Nuristan.

REUTERS SP RK1841