KABUL: Three NATO troops were killed in attacks Afghanistan on Sunday, the alliance force said, taking to eight the number of international troops to die in the insurgency-hit country over the weekend.

The latest deaths were in two separate bomb attacks in the south of the country, NATO`s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement, without giving details.

Five ISAF troops were killed in the south on Saturday, including two Danish soldiers whose tank hit a roadside bomb while on patrol in restive Helmand province.

Improvised explosive devices are the weapons of choice for Taliban fighting an increasingly deadly insurgency in their southern heartlands of Helmand and Kandahar provinces, where around 30,000 international troops are deployed.

The deaths bring the overall number of foreign troops killed in Afghanistan this year to 425, according to an AFP tally based on that kept by the independent icasualties.org website.

BDST: 0943 HRS, August 09, 2010