KABUL, Afghanistan - Officials in Afghanistan say insurgents ambushed NATO-led forces in the eastern part of the country leaving two alliance troops dead and three others wounded. They also say a coalition airstrike in the south killed 18 suspected militants on Friday.
A NATO statement says the eastern clash occurred in Korangal Valley in Kunar province late Thursday after insurgents ambushed a joint NATO-Afghan foot patrol.
The wounded troops were transported to a military medical facility and were in stable condition.
NATO did not identify the nationalities of the dead and wounded soldiers. Most of the troops in that part of the country are American.
In the south, an airstrike on a group of Taliban fighters on Friday left 18 militants dead in the mountainous area of Daychopan district, in Zabul province, said Fazel Bari, Daychopan's district chief.
The strike follows a U.S.-led coalition and Afghan attack on a gathering of another group of Taliban militants on Wednesday in the same district that killed 10 insurgents.
Authorities recovered the dead bodies of 18 militants killed in the Friday strike, which also included foreigners, Bari said.
U.S.-led coalition and NATO-led troops could not immediately confirm that any airstrikes had taken place in that area.
