Kabul, September 06, 2010: The death of a US soldier in eastern Afghanistan brought the death toll of occupation troops to 500 this year so far.

According to icasulaties.org website, that figure reveals the increasing number of US and NATO fatalities this year, compared to the 521 registered in 2009.

The latest U.S. casualty was the fifth American to die in September to date, and the 321st since the year began, making it the deadliest year for the United States since it first invaded Afghanistan in October 2001.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force also confirmed one Georgian soldier killed and another injured in southern Afghanistan.

Georgia has 925 soldiers in that country, including 750 in the southern province of Helmand, the most violent.

A total of 150,000 US and NATO soldiers have been in Afghan territory since the country was invaded almost nine years ago, including 30,000 additional forces sent by the Pentagon.