TALIBAN fighters simultaneously attacked two police checkpoints on a southern Afghan highway, and up to 14 militants were killed or wounded in the ensuing gun battle, an official said yesterday.

A ROCKET exploded in a packed school near a US-led coalition base in eastern Afghanistan yesterday, killing seven children and wounding 34 other people, officials said.

A rocket exploded in a packed school near a US-led coalition base in eastern Afghanistan today, killing seven children and wounding 34 other people, officials said.

Two US helicopters that made emergency landings during a day of violence in volatile southern Afghanistan were hit by fire from insurgents, a US military official said today.