"Several" Afghans killed in firing after blast

JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Mar 4 (Reuters) Several Afghan civilians were killed today when foreign troops opened fire after a suicide bomber rammed his car into their convoy, an official and witnesses said.

In a separate incident, two NATO soldiers were killed during combat operations in the south of the country yesterday, the force said. Their nationalities were not given.

The suicide bomb attack and shooting happened on a main road linking the eastern city of Jalalabad to the Pakistani border.

''A suicide bomber attacked a convoy of foreign troops and subsequently the soldiers in the convoy fired in self defense resulting to the killing and wounding of some civilians,'' said Noor Agha Zwak, a provincial government spokesman.

Both NATO and US-led coalition troops operate in the east of the country.

REUTERS SSC HS1232