A clash between coalition forces and Taleban insurgents in Afghanistan has left one U.S. soldier and one rebel dead.
A U.S. military statement says the clash occurred in the restive southern province of Kandahar as Afghan and U.S. troops were conducting a joint combat patrol.
It says the other militants fled after American aircraft pounded their positions.
Also on Thursday, the U.S. military released more than 45 suspected Taleban prisoners.
The head of the government's Reconciliation Committee, former President Sibghatullah Mojadeddi, told reporters that many of those released had been arrested in the south and east of the country where the Taleban are most active.
Some information for this report provided by Reuters, AP.
