NATO officials say one of its servicemembers died following an insurgent attack in northern Afghanistan Sunday, while another servicemember died Saturday in a bomb blast in the south.
Elsewhere on Saturday, NATO says Afghan and coalition forces who were pursuing a suspected insurgent have killed an Afghan adult male and a child. The coalition says another adult civilian was wounded.
The alliance says a patrol thought the suspected militant was about to fire a weapon when the shootings happened in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province.
A team of Afghan and coalition members is investigating the shootings.
NATO also says an air strike destroyed an insurgent compound in the Arghandab district of Kandahar province Saturday.
Alliance officials say they believe the compound contained more than 1,200 kilograms of explosives, enough to make 50 bombs.
NATO says Afghan and coalition forces captured a Taliban senior leader Saturday who was a bomb expert. NATO says the Taliban leader, who was apprehended in the village of Kesh-ano Kalachec in Kandahar district, was preparing a suicide attack.
Australia's newly elected prime minister arrived in Afghanistan Saturday on her first foreign trip as leader. Julia Gillard met with President Hamid Karzai, reassuring him of Canberra's intention to continue helping the Afghan government meet its security needs.
The Australian leader shared a meal with the Australian troops stationed at Tarin Kowt and paid tribute the 21 Australian troops who have died fighting insurgents in Afghanistan.
The prime minister also met with U.S. General David Petraeus, the top NATO commander in Afghanistan. The two discussed plans for transferring the responsibility for security in Afghanistan to Afghan forces.
