NATO soldier injured by mine in S. Afghanistan

A mine wounded a soldier of the NATO- led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kandahar province of southern Afghanistan, said an ISAF statement received on Sunday.

The soldier was injured on Saturday morning while conducting a foot patrol in Pashmul area, about 25 km west of Kandahar city, the provincial capital, the statement said.

"The ISAF soldier stepped on an anti-personnel mine and was immediately evacuated to a nearby ISAF medical facility,"it said.

However, the statement did not say whether the mine was an old one or was newly planted by militants. It also did not say the soldier's nationality.

Due to rising Taliban-linked violence this year, Afghanistan has plunged into the worst spate of bloodshed since the Taliban regime was toppled down five years ago.

Source: Xinhua