Officials in eastern Afghanistan say a roadside bomb blast struck the vehicle of a district intelligence chief Tuesday, killing him and three colleagues.
A provincial spokesman says the blast killed the head of the National Directorate of Security for the Qarghai district of Laghman province.
Meanwhile, a police chief in western Afghanistan says 20 Taliban fighters were killed or wounded during a battle for control of a district in Farah province. The police chief said hundreds of Taliban gathered to fight police who were supported by local civilians.
And in southern Kandahar province, the U.S. military said a soldier serving with the U.S.-led coalition was killed Tuesday during a combat operation. It did not release the nationality of the soldier.
This year has been the deadliest in Afghanistan since a U.S.-led invasion ousted the Taliban government in 2001. Taliban militants have established strongholds in the south and east, attacking U.S. and NATO troops and Afghan soldiers in ambushes and suicide bombings.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
