Ambush Kills GI In Afghanistan

Suspected Insurgents Attack U.S. Troops; Claims U.S. Bombed Town

(AP)  Also, one woman from the village died at a hospital in neighboring Kandahar province after arriving there with two other injured women on Wednesday, a doctor at the hospital, Mohammed Hashil, told The AP by phone Thursday.

U.S. military spokeswoman, Lt. Cindy Moore, however, said intelligence indicated there had been no civilian casualties.

"My understanding is that our intelligence shows no civilians in this area. It was a remote area. The targets were in an open area. We were firing back ... this is possibly propaganda press. We don't have any assessment of any civilians in this area," she told The AP.

The U.S. military reported earlier that the fighting in Day Chopan was sparked when a U.S. and Afghan patrol came under fire from militants using small-arms and rocket-propelled grenades and that coalition aircraft had joined the battle.

Afghan officials and human rights groups have complained repeatedly about civilian casualties in U.S.-led military operations, saying heavy-handed tactics could stoke sympathy for militants who have maintained a stubborn insurgency since the fall of the hardline Taliban regime in 2001.

American commanders insist they modify their operations to try to avoid hurting civilians and accuse militants of using civilians for protection.

Sporadic militant attacks across the country have deepened concerns over security ahead of key legislative elections set for Sept. 18. The vote represents the country's next step toward democracy after two decades of war and civil strife.

Meanwhile, one suspected Taliban guerrilla was killed and seven others arrested by Afghan forces on Wednesday in eastern Paktika province, said Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammed Saher Azimi.

Two other alleged insurgents were arrested during a separate Afghan operation in neighboring Ghazni province Wednesday, he told reporters Thursday.

Azimi also said an accidental explosion at an airport in the southern city of Kandahar on Thursday set three Afghan military trucks and some tents on fire, but declined to give details.