A man in an Afghan uniform opened fire on a group of Americans at a base in the south of the country, killing a US soldier and wounding another.

Afghan government officials have approved a multimillion-dollar contract to mine the wealth of gold under the mountains of northern Afghanistan.

A Nato helicopter crashed today in southern Afghanistan, killing nine international troops in a region where forces are ramping up pressure on Taliban insurgents. It was the deadliest chopper crash for the coalition in four years.

Nine service members with the international coalition in Afghanistan died today when their helicopter crashed in the volatile south where troops are ramping up pressure on Taliban insurgents.

Five US troops were killed in Afghanistan today, the latest casualties in a savage spell that has left 19 dead since Saturday.

An Afghan man working for the United Nations was shot and killed in his vehicle today near a busy traffic island in Afghanistan’s capital, the world body said.

Nato said a helicopter with the international force crashed in southern Afghanistan.

More Taliban leaders have been captured in Pakistan following the arrest of the group’s deputy leader.

The Taliban’s top military commander has been captured in Pakistan, it was reported today.

A former US Marine-turned diplomat has become the first American official to resign in protest at the war in Afghanistan.

A helicopter crashed during take-off at southern Afghanistan’s largest Nato base today, killing 16 civilians in the latest in a string of deadly aircraft crashes in the country.

A massive bomb killed 25 people including 13 primary school pupils in central Afghanistan today.

PRESIDENT Hamid Karzai registered as a candidate for Afghanistan’s August presidential election yesterday and selected a powerful warlord and former top political leader as his new vice-presidential running mate.

Afghanistan’s intelligence chief said today a coalition helicopter accidentally dropped food and weapons in a remote area of southern Afghanistan where Taliban fighters recovered the supplies.

Twenty-four Taliban militants died in clashes with Afghan and foreign troops in southern Afghanistan it was revealed today. The insurgents were believed to be responsible for an attack on a road-building project days earlier.

The US-led coalition today accused the Taliban of using children as human shields during a battle in southern Afghanistan, while Nato said it was investigating a shipment of weapons intercepted near the border with Iran.

Taliban militants ambushed a convoy carrying supplies for Nato-led troops in southern Afghanistan today, killing 10 Afghan guards, an official with the convoy said.

A roadside bomb tore through a Nato vehicle in Afghanistan, killing six Canadian soldiers and their Afghan interpreter, officials said.

A roadside bomb hit a Nato vehicle in southern Afghanistan, killing six soldiers and their Afghan interpreter, Nato said in a statement.

Afghan and Nato forces clashed with Taliban militants in a dangerous southern region overnight, leaving 33 Afghanis dead, the provincial governor said today.

Two officers were killed when a suicide bomber attacked a police vehicle in southern Afghanistan today, an official said.

Afghan security forces clashed with suspected Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan, and a subsequent airstrike killed 35 militants.

A US-led coalition helicopter crashed in southeastern Afghanistan today after reporting engine failure.

A suicide car bomb exploded next to a Nato convoy in southern Afghanistan today, and troops speeding away from the scene shot at several civilian cars, officials said.

One Nato soldier and about 57 insurgents were killed in four separate attacks in southern Afghanistan, officials said today.

A roadside bomb killed two Nato soldiers and wounded two others on patrol in eastern Afghanistan today, the alliance said.

Nato troops killed 48 suspected militants in three separate battles in southern Afghanistan.

A coalition forces airstrike killed a local Taliban commander and 15 other militants in fighting in southern Afghanistan, the US military said today.

Police clashed with suspected Taliban militants in southern Afghanistan today, killing six and wounding 12 insurgents, a district chief said.

US-led coalition forces and Afghan police killed 20 suspected Taliban in the latest fighting to hit southern Afghanistan, as NATO today prepared to take command in the insurgency-wracked region.

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

Two suicide car bombers launched a failed attack on a US military convoy in southern Afghanistan today, killing only themselves, police said.

More than 80 Taliban militants have been killed in a series of attacks this week by Afghan and coalition forces, the military said.

Afghan and coalition forces killed about 82 militants in multiple assaults across southern Afghanistan, the military said Saturday.

Coalition forces killed 45 insurgents at two camps in southern Afghanistan as they pressed forward with a major anti-Taliban offensive, military officials said today.

More than 10,000 Afghan and coalition forces have begun a massive anti-Taliban operation across southern Afghanistan, the largest offensive since the 2001 invasion that toppled the former regime, the US military said today.

An 11,000-strong assault is to be launched on militants in the southern mountains of Afghanistan, the biggest offensive since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

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.

ITALY yesterday granted asylum to an Afghan man who faced the death penalty and threats for converting from Islam to Christianity.

Fear of attack by Taliban-led rebels kept many candidates off the streets today as Afghanistan kicked off the official campaign period for landmark September 18 legislative elections, the war-torn country’s next step toward democracy.

Suspected Taliban rebels killed an Afghan woman they accused of spying for US forces, while Afghan soldiers arrested a militant and seized weapons from him in restive southern Afghanistan, officials said today.

AMERICAN warplanes pounded a suspected Taliban safe haven in the mountainsides of southern Afghanistan in an assault that left up to 60 insurgents, five policemen and seven Afghan soldiers dead and five US soldiers wounded, officials said.

Suspected Taliban militants ambushed and killed six Afghans today as they were transporting the body of a government engineer who was killed on Wednesday in another deadly rebel attack, officials said.

Fierce battles between US and government forces and Taliban-led militants have left about 64 rebels dead, the US military said today, the bloodiest fighting in Afghanistan in nine months.