KABUL, Dec 24: An air strike by NATO-led forces killed five insurgents in southern Afghanistan while two other rebels were blown up when their bomb exploded prematurely, the interior ministry said on Sunday.

The five, two of which were Pakistani nationals, were killed on Saturday as planes from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) bombed a rebel stronghold in the Garmsir district of southern Helmand province, it said.

Those killed included a mid-level Taliban commander, the Afghan intelligence department said.

Also on Saturday, two militants were killed when a bomb they were planting on a road used by Afghan and foreign troops exploded prematurely near the provincial capital Lashkargah, the ministry added.

Garmsir in the far-east of the restive Helmand province was overtaken twice by Taliban militants earlier this year.—AFP