Local officials said 22 Taliban insurgents have been killed in fighting in southern Afghanistan.
Officials said NATO airstrikes and Afghan security forces attacked the group of militants Friday in Helmand province. They said several local Taliban commanders were among the dead.
The clash took place near the province's main city, Lashkar Gah.
Earlier in the same province, the British defense ministry said a roadside bomb blast killed a British Royal Marine. NATO said the man was part of the NATO-led international force battling insurgents in Afghanistan.
Two other NATO soldiers were killed in fighting in the east. A spokesman for the force said they came under direct fire while under patrol. Their identities and nationalities were not immediately released.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
