Afghan forces battle insurgents, NATO attacked

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Sep 27 (Reuters) Afghan security forces killed 25 insurgents in a clash in the southern province of Helmand today while NATO troops again came under attack from bombers.

The worst phase of Afghan violence since the Taliban were ousted in 2001 looms over talks in Washington later today when US President George W Bush meets the Afghan and Pakistani presidents.

Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai and Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, major US allies in the war on terrorism, have been trading barbs over Afghan complaints the Taliban operate and get support from sanctuaries in Pakistan.

In the latest fighting in the south, insurgents attacked a police post in Helmand province and 25 of the attackers were killed when security forces responded, Afghanistan's NATO force said, citing police.

An Italian military vehicle was blown up in the western province of Herat and three Italians were slightly wounded a day after an Italian soldier was killed in a blast near Kabul.

''Three Italians and an Afghan interpreter were hit. The last one in a more serious way but his life is not at risk,'' a NATO spokesman said.

The violence this year has raised concerns for the country, which is a central battlefield in the war on terrorism.

Optimism generated by successful elections in 2004 and 2005 has evaporated.

In the southern city of Kandahar, a suicide car bomber attacked a convoy of NATO troops but none was hurt. A passer-by was wounded and the bomber was killed.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for both blasts.

Mr Karzai says the insurgency must be tackled at its root, meaning inside Pakistan.

Gen Musharraf, who has acknowledged that militants are crossing from Pakistan into Afghanistan, says Afghanistan must do more to ensure its own security and Mr Karzai is oblivious to problems in his government.

About 3,000 people have been killed in violence this year, most of them militants, according to foreign force and government figures. The Taliban deny big losses.

Nearly 140 foreign troops have been killed in violence or accidents on operations since January.

Afghanistan's Western backers stress their commitment to its security but NATO casualties have raised doubts and opposition to the Afghan deployments in some NATO member countries.

REUTERS BDP RK2120