A suicide bomber on a motorbike set off his explosives in a crowded area in southern Afghanistan today, and preliminary reports said up to 28 people were killed and about 60 wounded, officials said.

Taliban militants wearing Afghan army uniforms attacked a remote Nato base in eastern Afghanistan today, leaving two Afghan soldiers dead and 11 alliance soldiers wounded, a statement from Nato said.

Nato and Afghan troops clashed with Taliban insurgents and called in airstrikes, killing at least 50 suspected militants and 28 civilians, including women and children, local officials and villagers said today.