Taliban attacks take high toll on Nato soldiers, civilians

A series of bomb, rocket and gun attacks in southern Afghanistan killed at least 26 Nato troops and civilians in two days, officials said Wednesday. Among them are victims of a renegade Afghan soldier who has been on the run since Tuesday.

Reuters

Of the soldiers killed, four were British troops, and eight were American.

"We're in the toughest part of this fight," said General Josef Blotz, spokesperson for Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf).

The assaults included the killing of three British troops by a rogue Afghan soldier, an incident that has troubled key objectives to build up the local army.

The renegade soldier struck Tuesday in Helmand province and is still on the run, despite a large manhunt.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the nation's army chief have vowed to investigate the incident.

Britain said it would not alter its strategy in working with local forces, and US General David Petraeus said it was vital trust between Afghan and international forces "remains solid in order to defeat our common enemies".

Also on Tuesday, Taliban insurgents set off a car bomb and fired rockets and small arms into a police base in Kandahar, killing three US soldiers and five Afghan civilians.

The Afghan Interior Ministry said another nine civilians were killed in the neighbouring province of Helmand on Tuesday, when their minivan hit a roadside bomb.

Four US soldiers died in a bomb attack and a fifth by small-arms fire in the south on Wednesday, according to an Isaf representative.

A Kandahar government spokesperson said insurgents attacked the base for more than 20 minutes.

A British marine was shot dead on Tuesday while on foot patrol.

Around 10,000 British soldiers are in Afghanistan. British Prime Minister David Cameron has signalled he would like to see combat troops withdrawn within five years.

The US and Nato have 143,000 troops in total in Afghanistan, with the number due to rise to 150,000 in coming weeks.