Police killed 11 suspected Taliban in two separate operations in southern Afghanistan overnight as a purported insurgent spokesman claimed today that militants killed a Turkish national kidnapped last month.

Afghanistan’s foreign minister today urged the international community to do more to stem the flow of Islamic extremists, weapons and terror funding into the country.

Two roadside bombs wounded four Canadian soldiers and killed another today - Nato’s fourth fatality since taking command in southern Afghanistan this week - a Canadian military spokesman said.

Taliban insurgents attacked a Danish camp in southern Afghanistan today, seriously wounding one Nato soldier, in the third assault on Denmark’s contingent since it deployed to the volatile region last week.

Gunmen opened fire with assault rifles on a passenger train in south-western Pakistan, sparking a gun battle with security forces, a railway official said. There were no immediate reports of injury.

The Himalayan region of Kashmir remained cut off from the rest of India for a second day today as heavy snowfall triggered avalanches, blocking roads and killing at least one villager.

An ageing cargo plane carrying communications equipment for the US-led coalition in Afghanistan slammed into mountains near the capital Kabul today, killing up to 10 people.