ISAF soldier dies in south

KABUL, the alliance said on Tuesday.

The release did not issue further details, but Romania’s defence ministry said a soldier from the country had died after a bomb blast in southern Zabul province.

The ministry said Catalin Ionel Marinescu died of wounds he sustained on Tuesday, after an explosion of an improvised explosive device as he was inspecting a footbridge in the province.

Marinescu, 28, was the second Romanian soldier to die in Afghanistan in a week.

Romaniahas about 1,700 troops serving in Afghanistan, mostly in the restive south where the Taliban regularly target foreign and Afghan troops with improvised explosive devices. It has now lost 19 service members in the conflict. 

Since the beginning of this year, 165 international soldiers, including 126 Americans, have been killed in Afghanistan. In 2010, the deadliest year for NATO-led troops, 714 ISAF service members were killed.

mrh/ ma

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