Five US-led soldiers killed in Afghanistan

US soldiers take position near the scene of an explosion in Kandahar south of Kabul, Afghanistan on Sunday, May 22, 2011.

Five US-led soldiers have been killed in different incidents in southern Afghanistan amid increasing attacks by militants in the spring offensive.

Two foreign soldiers were killed in separate explosions while two others were killed in direct attacks by militants, a Press TV correspondent reported on Saturday.

The fifth soldier was killed in another incident, the report added.

NATO announced that the incidents took place on Friday but did not provide any information about the nationalities of the victims and the places where the incidents occurred.

Seven American soldiers were killed in an attack in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, making the past two days the deadliest for NATO troops in the past several months.

Taliban militants have recently stepped up attacks, aggravating Afghanistan's already volatile security situation.

At least 200 NATO troops have been killed in war-ravaged Afghanistan in 2011.

2010 has been the deadliest year of the nine-year war in Afghanistan, with casualties among civilians and foreign troops at record levels, mainly due to an increase in Taliban attacks.

As casualties have risen in Afghanistan over the past few months, public opinion has begun turning against the war in the United States and other countries.

Also, hundreds of civilians have lost their lives in US-led airstrikes and ground operations in various parts of Afghanistan over the past few months, with Afghans becoming more and more outraged over the seemingly endless number of deadly assaults.

And this situation is adding fuel to the fire of anti-US sentiment in Afghanistan and the rest of the Islamic world.

MA/HRF