Two NATO soldiers killed in Afghan violence

Two NATO soldiers, two Afghan army personnel and seven Taliban militants were killed in a series of clashes in Afghanistan.

Two NATO soldiers were killed and another wounded when their vehicle hit a roadside mine in eastern Afghanistan, the alliance said in a statement.

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The troops were patrolling in Sharan district of eastern Paktika province near the border with Pakistan on Tuesday evening when the incident occurred, the statement by the International Security Assistance Force said.

The statement did not disclose the nationalities of the soldiers, but private Afghan TV channel Tolo cited unnamed sources as saying the deceased soldiers were Polish.

Poland has more than 1,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of the 50,000-strong NATO forces. Most of the Polish soldiers are stationed in the eastern provinces.

Meanwhile, two Afghan army soldiers were killed and another six were wounded when a rocket hit their base in Maiwand district of the southern province of Kandahar on Tuesday, the Afghan Defence Ministry said in a statement.

In a separate incident, Afghan and ISAF forces fought with Taliban militants in Kajaki and Nawzad districts of volatile Helmand province on Monday, killing seven Taliban militants, the statement said, adding that there were no casualties on the side of Afghan government and international forces.

Five other militants were detained by Afghan army troops in Baraki Barak district of southern Logar province, some 40 km south of Kabul, Tuesday, it said.

Two AK-47 rifles were seized from the detained militants, it added.