Three US soldiers have been killed in attacks in Afghanistan, the NATO force announced Tuesday, as troops pushed on with offensives to clear out insurgent strongholds ahead of August 20 elections.
The three died on Saturday, Sunday and Monday after separate attacks in southern Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said, confirming it had not already announced the deaths.
They had all been caught in "hostile fire incidents", ISAF said in a statement, adding the three were from the United States.
US Marines have been pressing a major offensive in the southern province of Helmand ahead of the landmark August 20 presidential and provincial council elections.
They deployed into insurgent strongholds in early July and were able to retake areas held by the extremists. The Taliban said they had responded by planting bombs to hit the troops.
There are more than 100,000 international soldiers in Afghanistan, nearly two-thirds of them in the US military, with British and Canadian forces also playing a role in the south, the most dangerous battlefield.
Nearly 30 international soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan this month, according to the icasualties.org website which compiles a toll.
Last month was the deadliest for the troops since the 2001 US-led invasion, with 76 killed, the website says. Most of the deaths were in IED strikes.
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