One soldier killed and another wounded in an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan.

27 March 2008

KABUL - NATO says one of its soldiers was killed and another wounded in an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan.

A statement from the alliance Thursday said that the soldiers were patrolling when they were hit in a ''direct fire attack'' in volatile Helmand province Wednesday.

The nationalities of the victims have not been released. Most troops in Helmand are British, though U.S. forces and others also operate there.

Helmand is the biggest opium-producing region in the world, and has also been the front line of the deadliest fighting in recent years between international security forces and insurgents.

More than 8,000 people were killed in the insurgency last year, the deadliest year since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.

[Copyright AP 2008]