US-led coalition aircraft killed up to 80 suspected Taliban militants in a night airstrike on a rebel stronghold in southern Afghanistan, the coalition said today. The local governor said 16 civilians also died.

INSURGENTS attacked a police headquarters in southeastern Afghanistan, sparking a battle yesterday that killed at least 15 fighters and seven Afghan police, a police chief said.

Hundreds of rebels in a convoy of trucks attacked a police headquarters in south-east Afghanistan today, triggering a gun battle that killed 22 people, officials said. It was one of the largest shows of anti-government force in over a year.