Nato soldier killed by landmine

A Nato vehicle rolled over a mine in eastern Afghanistan today, triggering a blast that killed one soldier, the 90th foreign military fatality in a year of surging violence.

The United Nations, meanwhile, said it had responded to growing insecurity by suspending shipments of food aid to seven volatile provinces.

With fighting intensifying, especially in the country's south, Taliban and other militants are locked in daily battles with foreign and Afghan troops trying to support the embattled government of President Hamid Karzai.

The Nato soldier died when his vehicle struck a pressure-plated mine in Andar district of Ghazni province, military officials said.

Two of the wounded soldiers were taken to a hospital, where one of them died. Three others were treated at the scene for minor injuries, a Nato statement said.

The nationality of the troops was not released, though most of the NATO soldiers in the area are American.

The incident occurred during an operation to build schools and clinics and improve ties with tribal elders in Ghazni - the first time such an effort has been led by the US-trained Afghan army.

Troops from the US 82nd Airborne Division were supporting the 20-day operation.

The latest Nato casualty brings the number of foreign troops killed this year to 90, including three Canadians killed Wednesday when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle in Kandahar province.

In all, more than 2,400 people - most of them militants - have died in fighting this year, according to an Associated Press tally of figures from Western military and Afghan officials.