Suspected car bomb cell raided

US-led coalition and Afghan forces raided a suspected car bomb cell in eastern Afghanistan early today.

The ensuing battle left four militants and two female civilians dead, the coalition said.

Acting on a tip indicating the cell was planning three suicide car bomb attacks against coalition forces in the coming weeks, the joint forces raided a compound in the Bati Kot area of Nangarhar province, the coalition statement said.

The coalition said that after being fired upon, the coalition forces returned fire, killing four militants, an adult woman and a teenage girl.

Another child and teenage girl were also wounded during the fight and are being treated at a coalition facility.

The latest violence occurred in the same area where a US Marines convoy, fleeing after being hit by a suicide car bomb on March 4, opened fire indiscriminately on vehicles and civilians, killing 12 people.