Kabul, May 3 (Xinhua): A soldier in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has been killed by an explosion in Helmand province of southern Afghanistan, while over 17 suspected Taliban insurgents have been killed in an operation carried out by the Afghan and international forces in Afghanistan's southern Zabul province, officials said.

A statement from the military alliance said a group of soldiers were hit Friday by the explosion. Two soldiers were wounded and a military vehicle was damaged in the blast. Helmand province, a hotbed of Taliban militancy, is guarded by some 7,750 British soldiers. A total of 47,000 NATO-led troops are deployed in Afghanistan.

On the other hand, the operation against Taliban was carried out in Shar-e-Safa district Friday. Seventeen Taliban militants were killed and three captured, Faridullah Khan, a senior police officer in Zabul, told Xinhua. There were no casualties on Afghan and the international troops, he added.

More than 450 people have been killed in insurgency related violence in Afghanistan this year.