The soldiers were killed in separate incidents on Saturday in the Deh Rawod area of southern Afghanistan and two Afghan soldiers also died in the fighting, Defense Chief of Staff Dick Berlijn said in a statement.

ISLAMABAD – Nearly half of Pakistanis believe government agencies or government-allied politicians were involved in opposition leader Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, a poll found, as President Pervez Musharraf again dismissed such suspicion.

ISLAMABAD – Pakistani paramilitary troops have begun escorting trucks carrying wheat to stop supplies being stolen amid shortages of flour that have inflamed anger against the government before an election, an official said on Sunday.

KABUL – Male tailors in an Afghan province have been barred from measuring female clients for fittings following a new local ruling that resembles the restrictions the ultra-conservative Taliban imposed on the country when in power.

TEHRAN (FNA) Head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization Gholam Reza Aghazadeh here Sunday said that Tehran’s nuclear issue is in final stages and would soon be resolved.

TEHRAN (FNA) Political Advisor to Iraq’s most influential Shiite politician Sunday dismissed reports by certain media about an impending collective resignation by Iraqi president, prime minister and foreign minister, and described such rumors as ridiculous.

TEHRAN (FNA) A member of the US national fencing team dismissed West’s negative propaganda about Iran, stressing that he and his teammates would never visit Iran for a second time if they observed any hostility instead of hospitality in the attitude of the Iranian people or government.

TEHRAN (FNA) Kenya’s ambassador to Iran underlined the need for the two countries’ universities to develop Islamic and cultural relations.

TEHRAN (FNA) UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei returned to the IAEA headquarters in Vienna after two days of fruitful talks with Iranian officials.

TEHRAN (FNA) Chief Minister of Pakistani Balochistan Sardar Saleh Muhammad Bhotani on Saturday said Pakistan and Iran enjoy strong brotherly relations, adding that Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline would benefit people of both countries.