Two coalition soldiers killed in Afghanistan: ISAF

KABUL: Two coalition soldiers died in separate attacks in Afghanistan on Saturday, the International Security Assistance Force said, deepening NATO losses in a critical year of the campaign against the Taliban.

The first solider died following an improvised explosive device in the south of the country, while the second was killed in an "insurgent attack" in the north, ISAF said without releasing any further details.

It is ISAF policy not to identify the nationalities of dead soldiers.

This year, the deadliest yet for foreign forces, 592 NATO-led soldiers have been killed in fighting in Afghanistan, according to media tally based on the independent website, compared to 521 killed last year.

There are more than 150,000 international troops deployed in Afghanistan trying to defeat a Taliban-led insurgency aimed at toppling the country's Western-backed democracy.

The rebels have stepped up attacks every year since the Taliban regime was toppled in a US-led invasion in late 2001.