2 US Marines Die in S. Afghanistan Bomb Blasts

An Afghans girl holds a portrait of presidential candidate and former foreign minister Dr. Abdullah...

An Afghans girl holds a portrait of presidential candidate and former foreign minister Dr. Abdullah Abdullah during his campaign rally in Fayz Abad, capital of Badakhshan province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, July 11, 2009. Afghans will head to the polls on Aug. 20 to elect a new president. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)

(AP)

— In southern Uruzgan province, international troops and Afghan police killed 12 militants in a gunbattle Saturday, police spokesman Mohammad Musa said.

— In Logar, four policemen died when a roadside bomb hit their car in Charkh district Saturday, said provincial police chief Gen. Mustafa Mosseini.

— In Helmand, two police were killed in a roadside bombing in the Helmand provincial capital of Lashkar Gah late Saturday, said Dawood Ahmadi, the governor's spokesman.

— In a gunbattle in eastern Paktia province between insurgents and Afghan police, two militants and one police officer were killed, said Rahullah Samon, a spokesman for the governor.

— In eastern Kunar province, one civilian was killed and five wounded when shells from a gunbattle between insurgents and Afghan and coalition forces hit a house. Provincial Police Chief Gen. Abdul Jalal Jalal said it was unclear which side fired the shots that hit the house.

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Associated Press writers Amir Shah in Kabul and Noor Khan in Kandahar contributed to this report.

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