One soldier of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was killed in gun battle with insurgents in south Afghanistan Saturday, a press release of the multinational force said.

"Earlier this morning, ISAF troops were engaged by insurgents whilst conducting an operation in Regional Command-South. One ISAF soldier was killed during engagement,"the press release added.

However, it did not identify the place of the engagement or the nationality of the casualty, saying "ISAF does not release a casualty's nationality prior to the relevant national authority doing so".

Troops from Canada, U.S. Netherlands, Britain and some more western countries have been serving in south Afghanistan under the NATO flag.

This is the first NATO solider killed in Afghanistan in 2007. More than 200 insurgents, according to NATO sources, have been killed over the past one week in the south and east Afghanistan.

Nearly 4,000 people had been killed in 2006 while Taliban's chief Mullah Mohammad Omar has vowed to further intensify attacks.

Source: Xinhua