The death toll of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the counter- insurgency campaign in Afghanistan has slightly dropped in June compared with the previous month.

A total of 39 ISAF soldiers have lost their lives, including five service members who died in non-hostile incidents in June, according to iCasualties, a website tracking the casualties of NATO-led troops in the war on terror in Afghanistan.

According to the website, the fatalities of foreign forces totaled 45 in May including 29 Americans.

In January, February, March and April this year the military alliance had respectively lost 34, 24, 39 and 39 soldiers in Afghanistan.

The fatalities of the alliance have also gone down in the first six months this year compared with the same period of 2011 with 219 ISAF service members killed from Jan. 1 to June 30 against 282 in the first six months last year.

The latest deadly attack left three U.S. soldiers, two Afghan policemen and 15 Afghan civilians dead when a Taliban suicide bomber struck a joint unit of Afghan-coalition patrol in Khost city, the capital of eastern Khost province on June 20.

The deadliest assault this month claimed the lives of four French soldiers on June 9 in a Taliban suicide bombing in eastern Kapisa province.

Days earlier, two NATO soldiers were killed on June 6 when a military helicopter crashed in eastern Afghanistan.

Some 130,000-strong NATO-led ISAF with nearly 100,000 of them Americans are currently stationed in Afghanistan to fight Taliban militants and help stabilize the war-battered nation.

The Taliban, who have been waging over a decade-long insurgency since a U.S.-led invasion ousted their regime in late 2001, launched annual spring offensive from May 3 against Afghan security forces and U.S.-led coalition troops across the country.

In 2010 and 2011, the ISAF had respectively lost 711 service members including 499 Americans and 566 service members including 418 Americans.

According to iCasualties, a total of 3,067 foreign soldiers have lost their lives so far in Afghanistan. Among them were 2,028 Americans, 419 Britons and 620 from other troops contributing countries.(Xinhua)