Soldier dies after militant attack in Afghanistan

Kabul: A Nato soldier died after being wounded in a militant attack in southern Afghanistan, and insurgents and a roadside blast killed five Afghan policemen elsewhere in the country, officials said on Wednesday.

The Nato soldier was wounded after insurgents attacked his convoy in southern Helmand province on Tuesday. It did not release the soldier's nationality.
Also on Tuesday, a roadside blast that apparently targeted an Afghan senator mediating a land dispute in eastern Paktia province killed three policemen and wounded three others, said Ruhollah Samoon, spokesman for the provincial governor.

The politician, Wakil Mohammad Laheq, escaped unhurt.

In Logar province on Tuesday, militants attacked a police van, killing two officers, and then took the vehicle, said General Mohammad Mustafa Khan, provincial chief of police.

Afghanistan is facing a raging insurgency nearly seven years after the Taliban were ousted from power, and the country's south is the primary hub for the militancy.