New York, Aug 6 : Dr Aafia Siddique, the Pakistani-American neuroscientist and mother of three who has been accused of Al-Qaeda links and shooting at US officers in Afghanistan, has declined all the US allegations levelled against her, including that she tried to kill US agents and military officers, in a New York court here today.

Wearing a maroon headscarf, she talked very softly and was asked by the judge to speak up.

Down with the weakness and having a bullet wound in her leg she refused to admit allegations levelled against her by nodding her head slowly, reported The News.

Kabul - A US-led coalition soldier and several Taliban militants were killed in a series of clashes and an explosion in Afghanistan, officials said on Wednesday.

The soldier died of wounds he sustained during a roadside blast in the western region on Monday, the US military said in a statement.

The nationality of the deceased soldier was not disclosed in the statement. Most of the soldiers under the coalition banner are from the US.

The Afghan Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Wednesday, its forces killed four "enemies" in Delaram district of Farah province in the west of the country.

The statement did not give more details on how and when the militants were killed.

Karachi, Aug 6 : Dr Fauzia Siddiqui, the sister of Dr Aafia Siddiqui who was reportedly arrested in Afghanistan on terror charges and extradited to the US this earlier week, has alleged that the latter was detained and tortured for five years in Afghanistan, thereby contradicting the US claims that she was arrested only a few weeks ago.

Besides Dr Fauzia, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has also levelled the same allegation.

Accompanied by HRCP’s Iqbal Haider, Dr Fauzia maintained that her sister was innocent and that no charges had been proven against her since she was picked up in 
2003 from Karachi with her three children.

Kabul - Three civilians, a police chief, three other Afghan police officers and more than 17 Taliban militants were killed in three clashes in southern Afghanistan, officials said Monday.

The civilians were killed when the Taliban attacked a vehicle belonging to intelligence officials Sunday evening in Gardiz, the capital of the south-eastern province of Paktika, said Esmatullah Alizai, provincial police chief.

The agents escaped the attack unhurt but the three civilians were killed in the cross-fire, Alizai said

New Delhi, Aug 4 : Afghan President Hamid Karzai was accorded a ceremonial welcome by his Indian counterpart President Pratibha Patil at the forecourt of the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan today.

Expressing his delight on visiting India, Karzai said, "I''m extremely happy to be in India. The country of long deep friendly relations with Afghanistan, the country that has specially helped Afghanistan in past six years with generosity and affection, the country that has fortunately for all of us growing importance in the world."

London, Aug. 4: The Al Qaeda is reportedly training boys as young as five on how to use AK-47 assault rifles to fight British troops in Afghanistan.