A Nato airstrike on two vehicles believed to be carrying Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan accidentally killed and wounded an unspecified number of civilians, coalition forces said today.

Nato says Afghan and international forces have found nearly two tons of processed heroin, 1,800 pounds of opium and 200 pounds of ammonium nitrate that could have been used to make 25 roadside bombs in Naw Zad district of Helmand province in Afghanistan.

British troops killed nine suspected insurgents in southern Afghanistan, a military spokesman said today.