KABUL, Sept 2: One US soldier and an Afghan interpreter were killed in a gun battle in southern Afghanistan, the American military said on Friday. The US and Afghan coalition forces were moving into position for a daylight offensive operation when the clash occurred on Thursday, also killing two enemy fighters, the US military said in a statement.

“One US soldier and an Afghan interpreter were killed in a small-arms fire attack on Thursday, south of Deh Chopan in the Zabul province,” it said. “Two enemy combatants were killed in the engagement.”

Afghan security forces identified one of the dead as Taliban commander Toor Manan, the man responsible for the movement of equipment and personnel throughout the northwestern Zabul province.

Taliban spokesman Mullah Abdul Latif Hakimi confirmed the death of Mullah Manan but said he was killed along with his brother and sister-in-law when US and Afghan forces attacked his home.

In a separate incident northeast of Kandahar, a US soldier and an Afghan interpreter were wounded while on patrol when they came under small-arms fire, the US statement said.

Meanwhile, in Shinkai district a civilian truck was destroyed by a remote-controlled bomb early on Friday, but there were no casualties, he added.—AFP