A roadside bomb hit a convoy carrying the mayor of a key city in southern Afghanistan, killing a passer-by, while the US coalition and Afghan special forces killed five militants in the same region.

TALIBAN militants attacked a police checkpoint in the south and killed 16 officers, officials said yesterday.

The Taliban released a French woman aid worker abducted three weeks ago, but said today a French man and three Afghan colleagues would not be freed until French troops leave Afghanistan.

POLICE retrieved the bodies of four men believed to be Macedonians kidnapped in southern Afghanistan but the convoy carrying the remains was later hit by a roadside bomb yesterday, a provincial governor said.

Police retrieved the bodies of four men believed to be Macedonians kidnapped in southern Afghanistan but the convoy carrying the remains was later hit by a roadside bomb today, a provincial governor said.