KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Five NATO servicemen were killed in Afghanistan Sunday, the force's worst day in a month, the alliance said.
Meanwhile, the Afghan government said a diplomat kidnapped by rebels two years ago in Pakistan has been set free, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Abdul Khaliq Farahi was released in eastern Afghanistan, across the border from where he was seized.
The NATO force gave no details on the three deaths in the east and the two in the south, including the nationalities of those killed. Many Americans serve in both regions.
Fighting usually slows down as the winter sets in, but this year, clashes have continued even as the weather turns cold.
The Taliban and an insurgent group in Afghanistan's east, the Haqqani network, seem determined to show they can fight on in the face of a concerted NATO campaign targeting midlevel field commanders, military officials have said.
Before Sunday, American fatalities made up 438 of the 639 members of the NATO force killed so far this year, according to icasualties.org.
The 2010 total is already the highest annual toll of the war, which is now in its 10th year.
