Mine blast kills NATO soldier in Afghanistan

KABUL (Reuters) - A soldier from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was killed and another was wounded on Wednesday in a mine blast in southern Afghanistan, a military statement said.

Taliban suicide attacks and roadside bombs have been a major problem for Afghanistan and its Western backers in the last few years, killing or injuring hundreds of people.

A suicide bomber on foot was killed on Thursday when the device he was carrying detonated before he could reach his target in the southern province of Zabul, a provincial official said. One shopkeeper was wounded in the blast.

On Monday two coalition soldiers died when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb in the east.

In accordance with policy, ISAF does not release the nationality of casualties.

(Reporting by Hamid Shalizi; editing by David Fox and Roger Crabb)