KABUL, Dec 14 (KUNA) -- Three soldiers of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were killed in a roadside bomb explosion in southern Afghanistan, the military said on Sunday.
Paying tribute to the fallen soldiers, ISAF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Richard Blanchette said they died fighting for the better future of the people of Afghanistan.
The spokesperson did not disclose nationalities of the soldiers and exact location of the blast. However, officials said the blast took place in Kandahar province where mostly Canadian soldiers are stationed as part of the NATO's counter-insurgency mission in Afghanistan.
A provincial official told KUNA that the explosive device hit the patrol vehicle in Arghandab district of Kandahar on Saturday.
A day before the killing of the Canadian soldiers, four British marines were killed in a suspected suicide attack by a teen-aged boy and a landmine blast in the neighboring province of Helmand.
Both Kandahar and Helmand provinces are located in the restive southern zone of Afghanistan and are considered strongholds of Taliban. Canadian soldiers are operating in Kandahar while British troops are stationed in Helmand province.
Meanwhile, a roadside bomb killed three Afghan policemen and injured four more in Kandahar province on Sunday morning.
Seven civilians also sustained injuries in the blast, police officials said.
Kandahar police chief Matiullah said the explosives were planted on a handcart in the city. It went off as the patrol vehicle of the policemen was passing through the area.(end) gk.wsa KUNA 141014 Dec 08NNNN