Afghan violence: Three Isaf soldiers killed in attack

Three members of the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) have been killed in a roadside bomb attack in eastern Afghanistan, the force has said.

In June, Nato handed over security for the whole of Afghanistan to Afghan forces, but some 97,000 troops remain.

Though Isaf casualties have been falling since 2010, more than 100 Isaf soldiers have been killed this year.

International combat troops will stay in Afghanistan until the end of 2014.

A suicide attacker, who was riding a donkey, blew himself up as a convoy of Afghan and foreign forces was driving past in Wardak Province, the spokesman for the provincial governor said.

As well as the three foreign soldiers, their Afghan interpreter was also killed, he added.

Isaf currently has troops from 50 contributing nations - most of them, some 68,000, from the US - providing military back-up when needed.

By the end of 2014 all combat troops should have left to be replaced - if approved by the Afghan government - by a smaller force that will only train and advise.

The pressure on contributing nations to withdraw their troops has been exacerbated by a series of "green-on-blue" attacks in which members of the Afghan security forces have killed coalition troops.

At least 60 Nato personnel died in such attacks in 2012. Many more Afghan security force members have died at the hands of their colleagues, in so-called "green-on-green" attacks.

US President Barack Obama has not yet said how many troops he will leave in Afghanistan along with other Nato forces at the end of 2014.