Canadian soldier dies in Afghanistan

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, April 24 (UPI) --

A 30-year-old Canadian female military officer was found dead in sleeping quarters in Kandahar, Afghanistan, military officials said.

The defense ministry released few details about the death of Maj. Michelle Mendes, except that she was on her second tour of duty in the NATO mission, the Canwest News Service reported from the base.

The military said she died from "a non-battle injury" that did not involve enemy action.

Mendes was one of 36 troops injured in September 2006 when a U.S. fighter plane mistook the Canadians for enemy Taliban fighters and opened fire, killing one soldier.

She reportedly was working in the military intelligence division, local media said.

Mendes was the 118th Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan since 2002, and the third Canadian female soldier to die in the conflict, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. said.

US: Air Strikes Kill 14 In Afghanistan Amid Battle

KABUL (AFP)--

The U.S. military said Friday that air strikes killed 14 alleged Taliban fighters as troops under its command were locked in a six-hour battle with the alleged Taliban fighters at a Taliban hotspot in southern Afghanistan.

The U.S. said the alleged Taliban fighters ambushed an Afghan-coalition patrol Thursday in the Sangin district of Helmand province.

After coming under attack, troops "identified an enemy position and called in for close-air support resulting in six (alleged Taliban fighters) killed," the military said.

Alleged Taliban fighters opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire before troops called in another air strike "killing eight more insurgents," the military said in a statement.

Three alleged Taliban fighters were arrested, including one who surrendered with a RPG launcher and was receiving medical treatment, it said.

There was no independent confirmation of the death tolls.

Separately, a makeshift bomb exploded in the same province Friday, killing a man and a woman riding a motorbike, a local official said.

"Today at 8:00 a.M. (0430 GMT) a roadside bomb exploded against a woman and a man traveling by motorcycle. Both of them were killed," said Daud Ahmadi, spokesman for the Helmand governor.

He blamed the attack on "enemies of Afghanistan".

In Kabul, a policeman was killed when a booby-trapped bag he was inspecting blew up, an interior ministry spokesman told AFP.

A roadside bomb killed two Afghan soldiers and wounded another four late Thursday in Paktia province in eastern Afghanistan, an army commander said.

-Dow Jones Newswires, 201-938-5500