Kabul  - A foreign soldier serving with NATO forces was killed in an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan Sunday, according to military sources.

The attack brings to seven the number of NATO soldiers killed in Afghanistan in the past three days.

The soldier, whose nationality was not revealed in the statement, died of wounds he sustained in "a hostile incident," the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) said in statement.

The incident happened in the same southern region where four Canadian soldiers serving with NATO were killed in two roadside bomb blasts on Saturday. Another ISAF soldier was also killed in a Taliban attack in the same region on Friday.

ISAF has more than 60,000 troops from 42 nations deployed in Afghanistan. The troops have been there since the ouster of the Taliban regime in late 2001. More than
15,000 soldiers, mainly US citizens, are also operating under the separate command of US-led coalition forces.

Nearly 300 international soldiers were killed in Afghanistan last year, the deadliest year for foreign forces since 2001.

NATO officials have predicted a "tougher fight" this year, as the Taliban insurgents have gained more power and grown in numbers. dpa