Ten NATO soldiers were killed in Afghanistan on Monday in militant attacks and a helicopter crash, equalling the worst day of the year so far for the alliance.
In the deadliest incident, three Australian commandos and a United States soldier were killed when their helicopter crashed in southern Kandahar province.
It was the single worst loss of life for the Australian military in the nearly nine-year Afghan war.
Another two NATO troops, including an American, were killed in separate bomb explosions elsewhere in the south, the spiritual home of the Taliban militia.
A spokesperson for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force says three more American soldiers were killed in other incidents.
One US soldier died following a small-arms attack by militants in the south and two others died after a roadside bomb attack in eastern Afghanistan.