Five international soldiers were killed in a Taliban attack in eastern Afghanistan today, the heaviest toll for foreign forces in Afghanistan in a single incident in recent months, dpa quoted NATO as saying. Four NATO-led International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) soldiers and one US-led coalition soldier were killed in eastern Afghanistan "during an incident that included small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenade strikes," ISAF said in a statement. During the battle Afghan and ISAF forces engaged the Islamic militants with small arms fire and called in air support, the statement said, adding, "The insurgents withdrew and ISAF-Afghan forces are in pursuit." The statement did not disclose the nationalities of the deceased foreign soldiers, nor did it say whether there were any casualties among Afghan forces or the Taliban attackers. More than 70,000 international troops deployed from 42 nations are stationed in Afghanistan.
