22 Taliban insurgents and a US soldier were killed in clashes in Afghanistan Wednesday, while five children died in a bombing in the east.
The Taliban insurgents were killed in a joint operation by Afghan and NATO-led German troops and US special forces, which began Wednesday in the northern province of Kunduz.
The dead included a local Taliban commander and Uzbek and Chechen fighters.
The children died in an explosion in Nuristan's Barg-e-Matal district, Governor Jamaluddin Bader said.
The American soldier was on patrol in eastern Afghanistan Wednesday afternoon when he came under attack from Taliban insurgents, the US military said in a statement. It did not provide any detail.
2009 has been the deadliest year for American military since it began anti-Taliban operations in 2001.
So far this year, 450 foreign soldiers have died in Afghanistan, including 271 Americans, underlining reports that overall, the South West Asian country is becoming more lethal for US soldiers than Iraq.
The deaths come as President Barack Obama said he is not going to take a hurried decision on Washington's future strategy on Afghanistan.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com