Pakistan blocked vital supply routes for US-led troops in Afghanistan and demanded Washington leave a base used by American drones after coalition aircraft allegedly killed 24 troops at two posts along a mountainous frontier that serves as a safe haven for militants.

An estimated 200 insurgents were killed or captured in two Nato military operations that have just ended in eastern Afghanistan.

Ten years after Nato’s invasion, the Taliban are stronger that ever, and hopes for peace a long way off, writes Katherine Haddon.

A suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into a police truck outside a bakery in southern Afghanistan today, killing at least two civilians, officials said.