Aid worker, 3 cops killed in new Afghan attacks

The rebels were killed in an army sweep of an area around Tirin Kot city, the capital of restive Uruzgan province, which has seen several counter-insurgency operations in the past weeks.

"Among the 13 bodies on the site, two are Pakistani nationals. They have Pakistani ID cards," General Rahmatullah Raufi, the Afghan army commander for southern Afghanistan, told AFP.

Uruzgan, where 1,400 Dutch troops are deploying to be part of a Nato-led force that is moving into southern Afghanistan, has seen some intense battles in recent weeks.

In the northern province of Balkh meanwhile, gunmen opened fire on an Afghan aid group's vehicle late Thursday killing an aid worker and wounding two others, police said.

They were believed to be from the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance organisation that works in the health, agriculture and education sectors.

"We can't say who did this but it is the people who are against peace in Afghanistan," provincial police spokesman Shir Jan Durani said.

Taliban militants usually blamed for these kind of attacks operate mainly in southern and eastern Afghanistan.