Philippine labor officials on Tuesday partially lifted the ban on deployment of overseas Filipino workers to war-torn countries Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Philippine government’s ban on the deployment of Filipino workers to Afghanistan is “ineffective” as the number of OFWs going there continues to swell, a Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official said.

The United States (US) Embassy in Manila said on Tuesday a female Filipino-American soldier was killed by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in January while she was clearing areas for an air assault mission.

A 19-year-old Filipino-American soldier enlisted with the United States Marines was killed in combat in Afghanistan last week, the US Department of Defense said.

The Filipino pilot of the cargo plane that went down in Afghanistan Tuesday had just arrived in that war-torn country, his brother informed GMANews.TV.

Despite the existing deployment ban and the volatile situation in Afghanistan, Filipinos continue working in the war-torn country due to offers of high salaries and benefits, such as insurance.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday confirmed six Filipinos died on board a cargo plane that slammed into a mountain east of the Afghan capital Kabul.

The US government has ordered another pullout of foreign workers, including Filipinos, whose countries have implemented a deployment ban in the war-torn country.

A 21-year-old Filipino-American Marine corporal was allegedly stabbed to death by his fellow Marine in Afghanistan early Friday.

Job openings may be awaiting Filipino engineers and technicians, particularly in the health and development sectors in Afghanistan.