Afghans killed in Taleban ambush

Taleban rebels have shot dead nine Afghan soldiers in an ambush in southern Helmand province.

The attack took place in the Chakul area close to the Pakistan border late on Thursday, an Afghan official said.

Taleban spokesman Mullah Latif Hakimi confirmed its fighters had carried out the raid, one of the bloodiest attacks on government troops in months.

In another incident on Thursday in eastern Khost province, the US military said it killed 10 Taleban rebels.

Track down

Helmand was one of the first provinces ruled by the Taleban in the 1990s.

Haji Wali Mohammed, a spokesman for Helmand's governor, said: "We lost contact with the Afghan soldiers late Thursday, and their bodies were found today (Friday)."

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He added: "Two of those killed were officers and the other seven were soldiers. The car they were travelling in and their weapons have gone missing too."

The Chakul area has seen a number of attacks on police and troops, Mr Mohammed said.

He vowed authorities would track down those who carried out the attack.

A US helicopter killed seven rebels in Khost, the US military says

The Taleban spokesman, Mullah Hakimi, said: "Yes, the Taleban did this and we will launch more attacks against government and coalition forces."

Suspected rebels also ambushed an Afghan patrol in Khost on Thursday, injuring five soldiers.

The US military said Afghan and US forces returned fire, killing three rebels.

Helicopters sent to the area later came under small arms fire. Seven more rebels died when a helicopter fired back, the US military said.

In a third incident, in Kandahar, an American soldier was wounded by gunfire on Thursday as his unit investigated a roadside bomb, the military said.

The Taleban has maintained its insurgency against Afghan and US-led international forces, mainly in the south and east, since being overthrown in late 2001.

However, the movement failed to disrupt presidential elections in October as threatened and violence has largely tailed off over the winter months.