| A landmine killed a NATO soldier and injured four more on Thursday in eastern Afghanistan, where fighting between US-led forces and suspected Taliban left eight militants and a policeman dead, officials said. NATO said two of the soldiers hit in the mine blast were taken to a hospital, where one of them died. Three others were treated at the scene for minor injuries, an alliance statement said. The nationality of the troops was not released, though most of the NATO soldiers in the east are American. Troops from the separate US-led coalition and the Afghan army, meanwhile, launched an operation against “an important group of enemies” in Paktika province late Wednesday, said Mohammad Ekram Akhpelwak, the province’s governor. Eight suspected militants were killed and seven others were detained and held for questioning, said a statement from the Interior Ministry. One police officer was also killed during the clash, it said. Coalition officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Lt Col Maria Carl, spokeswoman for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, said on Wednesday Afghanistan was in the midst of the so-called fighting season, but insisted that a spate of suicide bombings and other attacks were “militarily insignificant.” |