Over 560 ISAF troops die in Afghan war in 2011

KABUL: Foreign troops fighting in Afghanistan continue to pay a high toll, with more than 560 killed in 2011, the second highest number in the 10-year war against the Taliban-led insurgency.

Commanders from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) say violence is declining following the US military surge which saw an extra 33,000 troops on the ground.

But the UN says violence is up, while recent mass casualty strikes by the Taliban on civilians and coalition troops have fuelled analyst predictions that more bloodshed is likely as NATO hands control for security to Afghan forces.

The death toll of coalition service personnel in 2011 was 565 and includes 417 from the US and 45 from Britain, according to an AFP tally based on figures from independent website icasualties.org.

The number is down from a wartime high of 711 in 2010 after the start of the surge but up from 521 in 2009.

The fatality count has been worsened by several devastating attacks, including the car bombing of an ISAF convoy in Kabul in October which killed 17, and the shooting down of a helicopter in Wardak, south of the capital, in August in which 30 US troops perished.

But it is Afghan civilians who have paid the highest price.