US troops kill 8 Afghans after blast - police

JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Mar 4 (Reuters) After a suicide bomber attacked their military convoy in Afghanistan today, US troops opened fire and killed eight civilians and wounded more than 30, Afghan police said.

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

The civilians were killed on a main road outside the city of Jalalabad in the east of the country after a suicide car-bomber attacked the US convoy.

There were no reports of casualties among the US troops and it was unclear why they opened fire on civilians.

''We have eight confirmed killed and more than 30 wounded, some of whom are in critical condition,'' said provincial police spokesman Abdul Ghafour.

He said US troops from a US-led coalition force were responsible.

Spokesmen for the coalition were not available.

Officials from a separate NATO-led force, which has US troops in the area, referred queries to the coalition force.

After the shooting, hundreds of people staged a protest and blocked the road, residents and officials said.

Bombing and accidental shootings by Western forces feeds resentment of the government of President Hamid Karzai and its allies and even bolsters support for the Taliban guerrillas.

More than 45,000 foreign troops are in Afghanistan battling a resurgent Taliban who have threatened a spring offensive after the bloodiest year since their ouster by U.S. forces in 2001.

TALIBAN WARNING In the south, the Taliban have been distributing leaflets in recent days, warning of their new offensive and telling people to stay clear of foreign and Afghan troops, police said.

A one-page leaflet in the Pashto language distributed in the town of Spin Boldak gave advice on how to avoid being caught up in Taliban attacks, saying people should keep their distance from gatherings of foreign or Afghan forces and their convoys.

NATO gave no details of the fighting in which two of its soldiers were killed but residents of a violence-plagued district of the southern province of Helmand said there had been heavy fighting there yesterday.

Several people who identified themselves as residents of the Sangin district said up to 30 civilians had been killed in NATO bombing in the area.

They said women and children were among the dead.

A senior provincial official who declined to be identified said he was aware of 11 civilians killed in the bombing.

A spokesman for NATO in Kabul, Colonel Tom Collins, confirmed there had been fighting in the area but said he had no reports of civilian casualties.

NATO says it does everything it can to make sure civilians are not in the area of their operations, and it will call off attacks if there are any doubts. Nevertheless, accidents happen.

REUTERS SHB RAI1900