Kabul (ANTARA News/Xinhua-OANA) - Continued militancy claimed the lives of three more soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) on Sunday, bringing the fatalities of the alliance to 297 so far this year, a press release of the military alliance said.

Two of the ill-fated service members, according to the press release, died following insurgents` attacks in the restive eastern and southern regions where Taliban militants are active.

The third soldier was killed in Improvised Explosive Device ( IED) blast, also in southern region, ISAF confirmed in its statement.

However, it did not reveal the nationalities of the victims, saying it is ISAF policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities.

Casualties on NATO-led troops is coincided with the visit of new pentagon Chief Leon Panetta who paid his first visit to Afghanistan on Saturday as U.S. Defense Secretary, during which he said it is the time to intensify efforts to target and eliminate al-Qaida leadership, supporting Taliban-led insurgency in the war- battered country.
(U.H-AK)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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