Afghan suicide bomber 'kills six'

Fighting with the Taleban has raged since spring

A suicide bomber has killed six people at a market in the eastern Afghan province of Paktika, officials say.

Four civilians and two Afghan soldiers died along with the bomber in the blast in Barmal district, the governor said. A number of others were hurt.

Earlier, US-led forces said they had killed over 100 militants in southern Kandahar province. There was no independent confirmation of the figure.

Attacks have soared in Afghanistan, with over 3,000 people killed in 2007.

'Major battle'

The blast in Barmal targeted soldiers who were shopping, Paktika Governor Akram Khpelwak said.

It was the second in the east of the country in as many days. A suicide bombing in neighbouring Paktia province killed three US troops on Tuesday.

The troops were helping to build a bridge, the Associated Press news agency quoted an unnamed US official as saying.

Three US-led coalition troops and two Afghan soldiers were killed in eastern Kunar province on Sunday.

In Kandahar province in the south, US-led forces said they had been engaged in a major battle with militants.

A statement said fighting erupted when insurgents ambushed a joint Afghan-US force in Shah Wali Kot. Aircraft bombed the insurgents' positions, it said.

Soldiers were attacked from several positions with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, according to the statement.

An Afghan security forces member was killed and three international and three Afghan troops wounded, it added.

There was no immediate reaction to the reports from the Taleban.