| Three civilians have been killed in northern Afghanistan after police and German troops opened fire on two cars that failed to stop at a checkpoint, the German Defence Ministry said on Friday. "On Thursday night two civilian vehicles at a checkpoint manned by the police and by German ISAF forces ... failed to stop despite a signal to do so and continued on their way," Defence Ministry spokesman Thomas Raab said. The security forces opened fire ... Three people were killed, all civilians," he told a regular government news conference. "The incident is currently being investigated." On Wednesday an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded next to an eight-vehicle German convoy patrolling the outskirts of Kunduz, where the German military has its base, killing one German soldier and injuring three. Germany has some 3,500 troops stationed in northern Afghanistan as part of the NATO military alliance's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The US-led coalition in Afghanistan said on Friday that its troops had killed almost a dozen militants after coming under attack while operating near the border with Pakistan. Two people were detained during the operation in the eastern province of Paktika on Thursday, the coalition said in a statement. Troops were in Barmal, a district on the border, looking for militants involved in moving foreign fighters between the two countries when they were fired upon, they said. "Militants engaged coalition forces during their search of the compounds. The forces responded with small-arms fire, killing the militants," the coalition said. "Almost a dozen militants were killed and two were detained." |