US forces capture insurgents after Afghan bomb

KABUL, Mar 13 (Reuters) US forces captured 11 insurgents believed responsible for a roadside bomb that killed four US troops, the US military said today.

The insurgents were captured in the Pech Valley of Kunar Province, near the Pakistani border in the east, where the four men were killed while travelling along a road yesterday.

''Operations to kill or capture other extremists, deny them sanctuary, and restore stability to the area are continuing,'' the US military said in a statement.

The attack came amid a rising tide of violence by ousted Taliban militants who have stepped up attacks against foreign forces based in Afghanistan and President Hamid Karzai's government.

Ten US troops have been killed this year as the United States hopes to cut the number of its troops from about 18,000 to about 15,000, and as NATO members Canada, Britain and the Netherlands are increasing the number of their troops.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for Sunday's blast.

US-led forces overthrew the Taliban in late 2001 after they refused to hand over al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, the architect of the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Earlier yesterday, two civilians and two suicide bombers were killed in a car-bomb blast in Kabul aimed at a former president, Sibghatuallh Mojadidi, who is in charge of efforts to encourage Taliban fighter to give up and defect to the government.

Mojadidi survived the attack, which was also claimed by the Taliban, but suffered some burns on his hands. He accused neighbouring Pakistan's intelligence service of being behind the attack.

Pakistan denied Mojadidi's charges as ''baseless and unfounded''.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said there was no evidence indicating who was behind the attack and an investigation was under way.

Afghan accusations that Taliban and other militants were launching attacks from the safety of the Pakistani side of the border have strained relations between the major allies in the US-led war on terrorism.

REUTERS SB ND1806