US-led coalition forces came under renewed fire across southern Afghanistan on Wednesday as Taleban militants vowed to intensify attacks before Nato expands its peacekeeping role in the country.
A second foreign soldier was killed in as many days in Uruzgan province, the coalition said on Wednesday, taking the death toll of foreign troops this year to 65 - the bloodiest period since coalition forces overthrew the Taleban in 2001.
Two coalition soldiers were wounded in the fighting on Tuesday, a day after a foreign soldier and 11 others were wounded in a clash in the same area. Their identities were not given.
Nato will undertake the alliance's biggest ground operation in its history at the end of the month when it assumes responsibility for security in the south from the United States. Nato already oversees operations in the north, west and Kabul.
Leading up to the handover, which is meant to allow the US to cut the size of its force in Afghanistan, the coalition has embarked on a big offensive in the south against a resurgent Taleban and their allies.
A statement purportedly issued by the Taleban and obtained by Reuters on Wednesday warned they would broaden their range of attacks. "There will be a manifold increase in mujahideen (holy warriors) operations in the coming few days," said the statement. "The operations will be strong and intense and new fronts will be opened against the enemy around the country."
German defence officials, visiting their troops based in the relatively peaceful north of the country, said the rise in violence was partly fuelled by drugs.
Afghanistan produces around 90 percent of the world's opium and the United Nations fears cultivation levels of poppy are back on the rise after production decreased in the immediate aftermath of the fall of the Taleban.