Officials in Afghanistan say eight civilians have been killed since Sunday in separate insurgent attacks.

A government official in central Ghazni province says six civilians were killed Monday when their minibus struck a roadside bomb.  

And, late Sunday, an elderly woman and a child were killed when an insurgent-fired rocket landed on their home in Khost.  The militants are believed to have been aiming at a foreign troop base.

Separately, the U.S. military says Afghan and international troops have killed 14 Taliban militants in the latest fighting in Ghazni.

U.S.-led coalition and Afghan forces say they killed five militants in Ghazni province early Monday.  Nine Taliban insurgents were killed Sunday in another joint operation in the same area.

Also on Sunday, the top NATO commander in Afghanistan, U.S. Army General David McKiernan, criticized media reports alleging that NATO and Afghan forces were losing the war.

However, the general did acknowledge he would like more troops to fight the insurgency.

General McKiernan told reporters in Kabul that international forces are taking unprecedented measures to prevent civilian casualties in Afghanistan.

The comments came as Afghan and international forces said about 100 Taliban fighters were killed in two recent battles in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province.

The Taliban have a strong presence in Helmand, Afghanistan's main opium-producing province. Officials say the militants have established links to other extremists and drug traders in the area. 

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.