Four NATO soldiers killed in Afghan bomb blast

The Taliban had announced the start of a new offensive, vowing to increase bomb attacks and guerrilla-style raids.

KABUL: Four NATO soldiers were killed Monday in a bomb attack in southern Afghanistan, one of the toughest battlegrounds in a nearly 10-year Taliban insurgency, the alliance said in a statement.

The US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), NATO's mission in the war-torn country, did not provide the nationalities of the casualties, leaving it to their native countries to do so.

"Four ISAF service members died following an improvised explosive device (IEDs) attack in southern Afghanistan today," the force said without giving any further details.

The latest deaths takes the toll of foreign soldiers killed in 2011, so far, to 176 according to an AFP tally based on data compiled by independent website www.icasualties.org, with last year being cited as the deadliest with 711 deaths.

About 130,000 ISAF troops are battling a fierce Taliban insurgency, with most forces in southern Afghanistan from the US or Britain.

The Taliban had announced last month the start of a new offensive, vowing to increase bomb attacks and guerrilla-style raids on Afghan troops and their foreign allies.

More than half of ISAF's fatalities are caused by rebel attacks using home-made mines known as IEDs.