U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan say troops have killed four militants linked to al-Qaida in the country's eastern region.

The U.S. military says the suspected militants were killed during a raid Thursday in the Zurmat district of Paktia Province, near the border with Pakistan.

The statement says the operation was targeting a network of militants who, with the help of local Taliban leaders, were bringing Arab and other foreign fighters into Afghanistan.

On Thursday, Taliban militants claimed responsibility for a car bombing in eastern Afghanistan that killed at least 11 people, including a U.S. soldier. Seventy-four others were wounded.

Local authorities say the suicide bomber rammed his car into a U.S.-led military convoy as it was passing through a livestock market near the capital of Nangarhar province, Jalalabad.

The United Nations condemned the attack.

Violence in Afghanistan has intensified this year to its highest level since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.

Most insurgent attacks have happened in southern and eastern Afghanistan, but violence is also spreading to the west and north, which were, until recently, relatively peaceful.

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