A joint Afghan-Nato operation in a volatile region in the country’s dangerous south has killed 40 militants, including the Taliban’s leader in that region, a government official said today.

At least nine Afghan soldiers were killed by US planes in a “friendly fire” incident today.

A roadside bomb killed three Canadian Nato soldiers in southern Afghanistan today.

Suspected Taliban militants ambushed an Afghan police patrol in southern Afghanistan, sparking a firefight that left three fighters dead, a police official said today.