Kabul  - NATO-led military confirmed on Monday that two of its soldiers were killed in insurgent attacks in Afghanistan's turbulent southern region.

A soldier of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was killed Monday by a roadside bomb in a southern province, the alliance said in a statement.

The statement did not disclose the nationality of the deceased, nor specify where the attack occurred. Most of the NATO soldiers in southern region are from Britain, Canada and the Netherlands.

A US soldier was also killed in an insurgent attack in the south on Sunday, it said, taking the death toll of US troops to 16 in the past three days.

Eight US troops were killed when insurgents attacked their outpost in the eastern province of Nuristan on Saturday, while seven others were killed in separate attacks on Friday and over the weekend.

Fatalities among US and other NATO military forces have sharply escalated in recent months with nearly 400 international soldiers killed so far in 2009, the bloodiest year since Taliban regime was ousted in late 2001.

Insurgents have intensified attacks in the southern and eastern regions, and expanded into relatively peaceful northern and western provinces, raising fears that the militants could wage a countrywide insurgency against the Western-backed Afghan government.

The top NATO commander, US General Stanley McChrystal, has asked for up to 40,000 extra foreign troops to help reverse gains made by Taliban over recent years. Currently more than 100,000 international troops are stationed in the country.

US President Barack Obama, who ordered 21,000 additional US soldiers earlier this year, has yet to respond to the request. (dpa)