Six NATO troops killed in Afghanistan

Kabul, Dec 12 (ANI): Six NATO service members have reportedly been killed in an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan, the international alliance said in a statement.

According to The New York Times, today's attack was the second incident in two weeks.

On November 29, an Afghan policeman attacked his American trainers in the eastern part of the country, killing six of them before he was gunned down. The Taliban claimed that they had sent him to join the police as a sleeper agent.

On November 14, five U.S. soldiers were killed in a insurgent attack on their unit in eastern Afghanistan, the paper said.

Most NATO troops in southern Afghanistan come from the United States, but there are contingents from several nations in the area.

The combat operations between the NATO forces and insurgents have increased in southern Afghanistan as a surge of U.S. troops have poured into Helmand and Kandahar provinces this year with an intention to push the Taliban out of their traditional strongholds.

Over 670 international troops have been killed so far this year, well above the 502 killed in the whole of 2009. (ANI)