NATO Loses 41 Soldiers

A soldier with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) lost his life in Afghanistan on Thursday but in a non-battle injury, a statement of the alliance released here on Friday said.

"An International Security Assistance Force service member died as a result of a non-battle related injury in eastern Afghanistan yesterday," the short statement confirmed.

It also did not reveal the nationality of the victim, saying it is ISAF policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities.

Troops mostly from the U.S. have been stationed in the eastern region of Afghanistan.

So far this year, 41 service members with the NATO-led forces, with 31 of them Americans, have been killed in conflict-ridden Afghanistan.
Xinhua News Agency
February 17, 2012

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-02/17/c_131416468.htm