Three soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force were killed Friday during operation in southern Afghanistan, said an ISAF statement.

However, it did not give any further information about the nationality or how they were killed.

"We offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the soldiers who died while working to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan," said ISAF spokesman Brig. Gen. Richard Blanchette.

International troops mostly from the U.S., Britain and Canada have been deployed in the volatile southern Afghanistan fighting militants and helping with reconstruction there.

A total of 10 foreign soldiers have been killed so far in 2009 as conflicts and Taliban-linked insurgency have left more than 5, 000 people dead, with 293 foreign troops in 2008, despite some 70, 000-strong international troops stationed in militancy-plagued Afghanistan.

(Xinhua News Agency January 9, 2009)