Kabul - Three soldiers of the US-led coalition were killed in a roadside bomb attack in western Afghanistan, while dozens of militants were killed in clashes between Afghan and international forces elsewhere in the country, officials said Thursday.

The three soldiers were killed and one other was wounded when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb blast in the western region on Wednesday night, the US military said in a statement.

The statement did not disclose the nationalities of the victims. Most of the soldiers serving under coalition command are from the US.

In another incident in the southern province of Uruzgan, Afghan and coalition forces battled with a group of Taliban militants in Deh Rawood district on Tuesday.

During the firefight, in which small-arms, rocket-propelled grenades and heavy-weapons were deployed, 55 suspected militants were killed, a separate US military statement said late Wednesday night.

Afghan police officials on Wednesday said that their forces backed by international troops killed more than 35 militants in the district, after a group of 150 Taliban militants stormed the district headquarters.

Also in Deh Rawood, another US military statement said that a coalition airstrike killed a Taliban commander named Sharif Agha and
14 other militants on Tuesday.

Another three militants were killed in Khas Uruzgan in Uruzgan province also on Tuesday after the militants attacked the joint Afghan and coalition forces patrol in the area, the statement said.

An Afghan security officer and a coalition service member were wounded in the firefight, the statement said.

In a separate incident, NATO-led forces killed four insurgents who were trying to plant a roadside bomb in western Farah province, the alliance said in a statement.

After two insurgents were shot by NATO snipers, the militants tried to shield themselves with two children accompanying them, the statement said, adding the soldiers waited until the children ran away and shot dead the remaining two insurgents.

Also in Farah province, coalition military forces killed three militants on Wednesday in Bala Bulok district after the insurgents attacked a coalition helicopter with small arms fire, the US military said in a separate statement.

Due to the remoteness of the area, it was difficult to verify the Taliban death tolls independently.

In the southern province of Helmand, the alliance forces killed a civilian who approached their convoy and failed to stop despite several warnings, a NATO statement said.

More than 4,000 people, mainly insurgents, have been killed in violence so far this year. (dpa)