Another 15 ISAF soldiers were wounded along with four Afghan troops, the force said in a statement.

It was one of the deadliest battles for the international forces that arrived in Afghanistan in late 2001 to oust the hardline Taliban movement now waging an insurgency.

The fighting was in the mountainous northeastern province of Kunar, where an Afghan official said earlier that insurgents had stormed an ISAF and Afghan outpost in the early hours of the morning.

"Nine ISAF soldiers died in fighting in northeastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border," the statement said.

"The fighting began in early morning hours and continued into the day as insurgents were repulsed from an Afghan National Army and ISAF Combat Outpost," it said.

The force believed insurgents had also suffered heavy casualties during several hours of fighting, it said.

ISAF, which draws nearly 53,000 soldiers from about 40 countries, did not give the nationalities of its casualties, leaving such announcements for their home nation.

But most of the soldiers in eastern Afghanistan are US nationals, who make up the bulk of international soldiers in the country.

The force also did not identify the militants who had attacked. Taliban are the main players in Afghanistan's insurgency but other militants, including from Al-Qaeda, are also involved in what they call a jihad, or holy war.

The new killings take to past 130 the number of international soldiers to lose their lives in Afghanistan this year, most of them in rebel attacks.

earlier related report
NATO casualties in heavy Afghan clashes
Fierce clashes erupted Sunday between troops and insurgents in remote northeastern Afghanistan, causing several casualties including NATO-led troops, officials said.

Insurgents attacked a military outpost in Kunar province with machine-guns and mortars in the early morning and the soldiers had called in military air power for support, NATO's force said.

"The fighting started early today and it's still ongoing. We have taken casualties," International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) spokesman Captain Mike Finney told AFP. It was too early to give details, he said.

Two Afghan soldiers had been wounded, defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Zahir Azimi told AFP.

"Tens of enemies have been killed and wounded but we don't have a figure," he said.

Soldiers at a military outpost in Kunar's Pech district "are involved in heavy fighting with insurgents that began at about 4:30 am today," ISAF said in a statement.

The rebels had been attacking the outpost with guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars using homes, shops and a village mosque for cover, it said.

"There have been casualties on both sides of the fight, but accurate numbers could not be confirmed as the fighting is ongoing," it said.

The soldiers had recently moved into the outpost after shifting from neighbouring Nuristan province, an Afghan official told AFP.

Nuristan deputy provincial governor Abdul Aleem said the outpost had been attacked from four directions. Civilians homes had been destroyed in air strikes, he said.

"There have been casualties among all three sides, the locals, Taliban and foreign forces," he said.

Four police were meanwhile missing elsewhere in Nuristan after clashes with insurgents near the border with Pakistan in Bargi Matal district, Aleem said.

"Two (police) posts have been taken by Taliban. Seventy police were sent on foot, a 12-hour walk. Now they have arrived. The fighting is ongoing but if reinforcements and weapons are not sent, the district will fall," he said.

Two of the insurgents, whom Afghan officials said had attacked from bases in Pakistan, were killed, Aleem said.

He identified them as Chechens but this could not be confirmed. Afghan officials regularly allege that foreigners, including Arabs and other Muslims, involved in insurgent attacks in Afghanistan.

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