BELGRADE, April 24 (Xinhua) -- A NATO peacekeeping soldier was killed and another injured Tuesday in a traffic accident in the north-western part of Kosovo, a spokesman confirmed in the provincial capital Pristina.

    The accident, in which an armored car overturned, occurred in the Osojane Valley in Istok, said Col. Michael Knop, the spokesmanfor NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo, known as KFOR.

    "Four persons were in the car when it turned over. One died on the spot, one was seriously injured and two others were unhurt," Knop said, adding that no other vehicle was involved and the reason for the accident was under investigation.

    Later on Tuesday, the Spanish Ministry of Defense said that a Spanish soldier was killed and another injured when their armored car crashed in an accident during a routine patrol in Istok, the Spanish zone in Kosovo.

    Defense ministry sources said that the dead soldier is Jose Javier Colorado Ramirez and the injured soldier has a broken forearm and a severe stomach injury.

    Kosovo is patrolled by some 16,500 KFOR soldiers, who have been deployed in Kosovo in June 1999. The resolving of the Serbian breakaway province's future status is in the final phase, with a UN Security Council mission due to visit it this week.