15 militants killed in Afghan clash

KABUL: International and Afghan forces killed 15 militants in southern Afghanistan on Friday, the U.S. military said.

Gunmen attacked the troops' convoy as they traveled to a village to talk to elders about security, the military said in a statement. The troops killed one militant in the initial firefight and another 14 as they pursued insurgents who were firing on them from a nearby hillside.

No Afghan army or international forces were wounded and no civilian casualties were reported, the statement said.

The Taliban have vowed to increase ambushes and other attacks as an additional 21,000 U.S. troops flood into Afghanistan this summer — in response to already rising militant attacks. Many of the new forces are going to the south, where the Taliban have effective control over large regions.