Friendly fire kills NATO soldier in Afghan battle

KABUL, Sep 4 (Reuters) A NATO soldier was killed by friendly fire and several more wounded today during a major offensive to crush a resurgent Taliban in southern Afghanistan.

The NATO troops were strafed by two of their own warplanes after calling in air support during a battle at close quarters with Taliban fighters in the province of Kandahar, the alliance said in a statement.

In a separate incident, at least four Afghan civilians were killed today when a suicide bomber rammed a car into a convoy of US-led troops in the capital Kabul, a government official said.

It was not immediately clear if there were casualties among the troops in the attack on a main road in the east of the city, said Interior Ministry spokesman Yousuf Stanizai.

NATO launched Operation Medusa on Saturday, its biggest thrust against the Taliban since taking over southern Afghanistan on July 31 in the largest ground operation in its history.

Today's casualty was the fifth NATO soldier killed in combat in the operation. Four Canadians died over the weekend.

Another 14 British troops died where their plane crashed on Saturday in the early stages of the operation. NATO says the crash was caused by technical problems, not enemy fire.

In recent months, Taliban forces have virtually retaken Kandahar, bordering Pakistan, leaving NATO barely in control of the provincial capital, Kandahar city.

''Now, let me be very clear that ... (NATO) forces will continue their mission, deeply saddened by this loss but totally unaffected in their determination to build on the existing progress of Operation Medusa and finish the job,'' NATO chief Lieutenant-General David Richards said in a statement.

''Our comrades would expect no less.'' NATO says it has killed more than 200 guerrillas in Operation Medusa, although Afghan officials put the rebel toll in the dozens.

Fighting across Afghanistan is the worst it has been since the hardline Islamist Taliban was ousted by US-led forces in 2001.

More than 2,000 people, most of them militants, along with scores of civilians and aid workers as well as hundreds of Afghan security personnel have been killed so far this year, while more than 115 foreign troops, have died.

Reuters KR VP1314