GI, 16 militants killed in Afghan clash

One US soldier and at least 16 militants were killed in a clash after insurgents attacked a patrol of Afghan and US troops in southern Afghanistan, the American military said yesterday.

The firefight occurred on Monday in the Deh Chopan district of Zabul province, which has been the scene of violence linked to Taliban and al-Qaeda militants in recent weeks.

"The service member was killed when an Afghan and US patrol conducting operations aimed at routing enemy forces from the Deh Chopan area came under an unprovoked attack by enemy forces with small-arms fire and rocket propelled grenades," the US military said in a statement.

US warplanes and other coalition aircraft "arrived at the scene and provided continuous close air support", the statement added.

"Battle damage assessment is currently ongoing. Initial estimates indicate at least 16 enemy forces were killed. Non-combatants were not involved in the attack," it added.

Militants from the Taliban, whose fundamentalist Islamic regime was toppled by a US-led invasion in late 2001, have stepped up their attacks on American and government targets ahead of key parliamentary elections in September.

Nearly 800 people have been killed so far this year, compared with only 700 in the whole of 2004.

Separately on Monday, an Afghan doctor was shot and killed by suspected Taliban rebels in the restive southeastern province of Ghazni, the latest attack on medical workers by the ousted Islamic movement.

Gunmen opened fire on a clinic in the Andar district and killed Mohammed Hashim, said interior ministry spokesman Lutfullah Mashal.