First Georgian soldier killed in Afghanistan

Georgia has suffered its first soldier killed in Afghanistan since joining the NATO-led force fighting there, the Georgian Defense Ministry said Sunday.

"One soldier was killed during operations and one was injured," a Defense Ministry official said, declining to give further details. The NATO-led force said the Georgian was killed by a home-made bomb in the south of Afghanistan Saturday, reports Reuters.

Georgia has 925 troops in Afghanistan, including 750 based in the southern province of Helmand, the most violent region of the country.

The former Soviet republic is a staunch ally of the United States and aspires to join. It has made a priority of sending its small military to join US and NATO troops in combat wherever possible.

Georgia had 2,000 troops in Iraq, the third-largest force in support of US operations there, but pulled them out during a five-day war with Russia in 2008.

Despite the presence of almost 150,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, violence is at its worst since the Taliban were ousted by US-backed Afghan forces in late 2001.