Coalition soldier, 8 Taliban killed

The coalition soldier was killed and another wounded on Thursday when rebels attacked a convoy in Helmand province, the US-led coalition said in a statement. It did not give the nationality of either service member.

"Coalition forces returned fire, and at least five extremists were killed," it said. The attack was in Baghran Valley in the north of the province.

Helmand, which borders Pakistan, is a hotspot for attacks by militants from the extremist Taliban movement that was removed from power in late 2001 by the coalition and by Afghan warlords.

Six British soldiers have been killed in action in the past month, with a base in the Sangin district recently coming under nearly nightly attacks.