KABUL, Aug 28: US-led and Afghan troops battled suspected Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, calling in air strikes, leaving over 100 insurgents dead and three coalition soldiers wounded, a coalition statement said.

Also on Tuesday, a suicide bomber attacked Nato troops helping to build a bridge in eastern Afghanistan, killing three American soldiers, a US official said.

The battle in southern Kandahar province’s Shah Wali Kot district started after the joint force was ambushed by a large group of insurgents who tried to overrun their position several times, before being strafed by air strikes, the statement from the coalition said.

“Coalition aircraft destroyed the reinforced enemy emplacements and sniper positions as well as two trucks used to reinforce and re-supply the insurgent force,” the statement.

More than 100 suspected insurgents and one Afghan soldier were killed, it said.—AP