Nato soldier, 20 militants killed in Afghanistan

Kabul: In the latest violence in Afghanistan, a roadside bomb in the south has killed a service member from the Nato-led force. No other details, including the service member's nationality, have been released.

The US military, meanwhile, says coalition and Afghan forces killed 20 militants during a series of operations in the Kajaki region of Helmand province on Friday.

The US statement said the forces were patrolling through a "known Taliban stronghold" when they were ambushed with gunfire and mortars. The combined forces responded with gunfire and airstrikes, killing 20 insurgents.

Friday's fighting is the latest in a string of battles in Kajaki, a region controlled by militants that produces much of Afghanistan's illegal opium poppies, the main ingredient in heroin.