Brigadier General Josef Blotz said that troops from the 140,000-strong International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) would not let up in their battle against the Taliban despite the winter, when fighting has previously lessened.

"Our casualties are not a proof of any failure of our strategy. On the contrary," he told a regular press briefing in Kabul, highlighting a US strategy announced in 2009 that boosted American troops by 30,000.

"With this increased force posture, we were able to challenge Taliban and insurgency networks in areas where they haven't been challenged for many years," he said.

"This actually led to un upturn in violence and we expected this.

"But obviously this is a necessary step, a necessary phase in the overall strategy and before it gets better, unfortunately it has to get worse and that's what we saw towards the end of 2010."

A total of 711 international troops died in Afghanistan in 2010, according to the independent website iCasualties.org. That was by far the highest annual figure yet, up from 521 in 2009 and 295 in 2008.

Limited, conditions-based troop withdrawals are expected to start in July 2011 ahead of a scheduled transition to Afghan security control by 2014.

Blotz insisted that international troops would fight through the bitterly cold winter months in Afghanistan.

"There will be no end of the fighting season from an ISAF perspective. We will maintain the pressure on the insurgency everywhere," Blotz said. "There will definitely be no winter pause."

earlier related report
First British soldier of 2011 killed in Afghanistan
London (AFP) Jan 2, 2011 - The first British soldier to die in Afghanistan this year was killed in an explosion on New Year's Day, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Sunday.

A total of 103 British soldiers were killed in operations last year, the second bloodiest on record for British troops following the 108 killed in 2009 -- more than double the 2008 toll.

The rate of British troops being killed has dropped since September 2010 when they handed over to US forces in the flashpoint market town of Sangin in the restive southern Helmand province.

The soldier killed Saturday was from The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

He was caught in an explosion while on an operation to interdict enemy fighters in the Nahr-e Saraj area of Helmand, the MoD said.

"He was part of an operation aiming to bring peace and prosperity to the people of a former insurgent haven, and has made the ultimate sacrifice in seeking a better life for others," said Task Force Helmand spokesman Lieutenant Colonel David Eastman.

The death brings to 349 the number of British troops killed since operations in Afghanistan began in October 2001. Of these, at least 308 were killed through hostile action.

Britain has around 9,500 troops in Afghanistan, largely battling Taliban militants in Helmand.

earlier related report
Taliban attacks kills two NATO soldiers in Afghanistan
Kabul (AFP) Dec 31, 2010 - Two NATO soldiers were killed Friday in separate rebel attacks in southern and western Afghanistan on the last day of 2010, NATO said, taking the death toll for foreign forces to at least 711 for the year.

An International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) service member "died following an improvised explosive device attack in southern Afghanistan today," ISAF said in a statement.

In a separate statement, the force said that another soldier "died following an insurgent attack in western Afghanistan today".

It would not give further details of the incidents in which the soldiers were killed and would not reveal their nationalities, in line with its policy.

At least 711 foreign soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan this year, according to an AFP tally based on that kept by independent website iCasualties.org

2010 has been by far the bloodiest year for foreign forces in the nine-year battle against the Taliban. In 2009, 521 of them died in the country.

Around 140,000 foreign troops, most of the from the US are in Afghanistan to support the government of Hamid Karzai.

earlier related report
US drone strikes kill 11 militants in Pakistan: officials
Miranshah, Pakistan (AFP) Jan 1, 2011 - Two US missile attacks in Pakistan's lawless tribal belt on Saturday killed at least 11 militants and destroyed a Taliban compound, local officials said.

The attacks took place in Mandi Khel, 25 kilometres (15 miles) north of Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan tribal agency along the Afghan border and a known hub of the al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani network.

The organisation, created by Afghan warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani, fights foreign troops in Afghanistan from bases in North Waziristan.

Seven militants were killed in the first attack when US drones fired four missiles and destroyed a car and a militant compound, officials said.

"Two US drones fired four missiles. At least seven militants have been killed," one security official in Miranshah told AFP.

"Three militants were killed in the car while four were killed in the house," a security official in Peshawar told AFP.

In the second attack, a US drone fired two missiles and killed four militants, officials said.

A security official in Peshawar said militants had gathered to rescue the injured and remove the dead from the first attack when they were hit by the US drone.

The 11 men who died were thought to be attached to Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, security officials in Miranshah and Peshawar told AFP.

One security official at Miranshah said they are seeking more information as informants in the area suspect there were foreigners among the dead.

"We have received such reports that four foreigners were also killed in these fresh attacks but their identity are still not known and we are collecting more information," the official said.

The US does not confirm drone attacks but its military and the CIA operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy the unmanned aircraft in the region.

The covert campaign last year doubled missile attacks in the tribal area, where more than 100 drone strikes killed over 670 people in 2010, compared with 45 strikes that killed 420 in 2009, according to an AFP tally.

Pakistan tacitly cooperates with the bombing campaign, which US officials say has severely weakened Al-Qaeda's leadership.

But it has stalled on launching a ground offensive in North Waziristan, saying its troops are overstretched.

The US strikes are deeply unpopular among the Pakistani public, who see military action on Pakistani soil as a breach of national sovereignty and say some attacks have killed innocent civilians.

Washington says the strikes have killed a number of high-value targets, including the former Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud.

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