Heavy US losses in Afghan battle

Eight American soldiers and two Afghan troops have been killed in the deadliest attack on coalition troops for more than a year, officials say.

The battle happened in Nuristan province in the remote east of the country when military outposts were attacked, a Nato statement said.

The Taliban said it carried out the attack. Reports say local officials including a police chief were captured.

Violence has escalated in the east as insurgents relocate from the south.

In a statement, Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said that tribal militia launched attacks on foreign and Afghan military outposts from a mosque and a nearby village.

My heart goes out to the families of those we have lost and to their fellow soldiers who remained to finish the fight... Both the US and Afghan soldiers fought bravely together Col Randy George US area commander

The attack is thought to have taken place in the Kamdesh district of Nuristan, and lasted several hours.

About 300 militants attacked one outpost at the foot of a hill, before turning their fire on a US base on higher ground, attacking from two sides, a provincial police chief said.

One Nato spokesman called it a "complex attack in a difficult area".

US jets carried out air strikes in response.

"Coalition forces effectively repelled the attack and inflicted heavy enemy casualties while eight Isaf and two ANSF [Afghan National Security Forces] members were killed," the Nato statement said.

It was the worst loss coalition troops have suffered since August 2008, when 10 French troops were killed in an ambush in Kabul province.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the movement was behind the attack.

According to AP news agency, Mr Mujahid also said some 35 Afghan police officers had been taken into Taliban custody, and their fate would be decided by a council.

Provincial governor Jamaluddin Badar confirmed that some officials including a local police chief had been captured.

Dangerous province

WORST SINGLE ATTACKS ON FOREIGN FORCES Sept 2009: Six Italian soldiers die in suicide bomb in Kabul Aug 2008: Ten French troops killed in ambush in Sarobi, east of Kabul July 2008: Nine US soldiers die in militant siege in Wanar, bordering Nuristan and Wanar provinces Nov 2007: Six US soldiers and three Afghan troops killed in ambush July 2007: Six Canadian soldiers and Afghan interpreter die when vehicle hits IED in Kandahar province May 2007: Five US, one UK, one Canadian soldier die in hostile attack on helicopter in Helmand province June 2005: Sixteen US soldiers die in attack on helicopter in Konar province

It is not the first time coalition forces have suffered damaging attacks in this region, says the BBC's Martin Patience in Kabul.

Nine US soldiers were killed in a single incident last year when more than 100 fighters breached a US outpost in the village of Wanat on the border of Nuristan and Kunar provinces.

The incident, which is still being investigated, was the biggest American loss of life in battle in Afghanistan since operations began in 2001, and forced US and Afghan soldiers to abandon the village.

The province's mountainous terrain makes it easier for insurgents to sneak up and launch attacks, but more difficult for military forces to access the area, our correspondent says.

Nuristan has for decades been a crossing point for fighters entering the country from Pakistan, he adds.

US anxiety

The security situation in northern and eastern Afghanistan has deteriorated since the beginning of the year.

An insecure security situation has been exacerbated by political uncertainty

The instability has been exacerbated by political uncertainty created by August's presidential poll, which has been marred by widespread fraud allegations.

The commander of the more than 100,000 Nato and US forces in the country, US Gen Stanley McChrystal, has described the situation as "serious" and is believed to have requested up to 40,000 additional troops.

But US President Barack Obama - who has already sent thousands of extra troops to the country - says strategy in Afghanistan must be agreed before a decision can be made on whether to bolster military forces further.