Six killed in gun battle at Afghan checkpoint

A vehicle carrying suspected Taliban fighters attacked a military checkpoint in southern Afghanistan, leading to a firefight that left six people dead and at least four wounded, police said yesterday.

A vehicle carrying suspected Taliban fighters attacked a military checkpoint in southern Afghanistan, leading to a firefight that left six people dead and at least four wounded, police said yesterday.

The attack happened at 6pm on Sunday in Maivand district, 140km (90 miles) west of Kandahar city, the Kandahar police chief, Khan Mohammed, said. The exchange of gunfire killed four soldiers and a civilian and the attackers left behind the body of one fighter as they drove away.

In another incident, two American soldiers were wounded when their patrol came under small-arms fire north-east of Shinkay, in the adjacent Zabul province, on Saturday, US Major Mark McCann told reporters. He said both were in stable condition pending transport to a US medical facility in Germany. It was unclear how many attackers were involved, but Major McCann said it was probably no more than five.

International peacekeepers said yesterday that they had found and confiscated a large amount of ammunition found in the southern outskirts of the capital, Kabul. A Canadian explosives disposal squad went to the site after a tip from a local man and found more than 500 rockets and mortar rounds.