U.S. Soldier, Afghan Child Killed By Taliban Attacks

NATO says a U.S. soldier was killed in a bomb attack in southern Afghanistan today while, in a separate incident during the weekend, an Afghan child was shot dead by militants during a gun battle with NATO forces.

U.S. Major Michael Johnson, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, said the Afghan child was killed on August 8 in the eastern province of Konar when militants attacked a small U.S. outpost in the Watahpur district.

Johnson said the militants fired on the outpost and soldiers saw bullets hit two children nearby, killing one and wounding the other.

The Afghan Human Rights Commission on August 8 reported that 1,325 civilians have been killed in the Afghan conflict since the start of 2010 -- mostly by Taliban militants.

compiled from agency reports