Kabul  - Four US soldiers were killed in a bomb blast in southern Afghanistan, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said Friday.

Two of the soldiers died in the explosion, while two others succumbed to their injuries later, ISAF said, but gave no further details of the blast.

An Afghan woman and a girl died in crossfire between insurgents and Afghan and international troops in the south-eastern province of Ghazni, the military said. It remained unclear which party was responsible for the deaths.

"A couple of" insurgents were also killed in the fighting, the ISAF statement said.

Taliban militants were also killed in the central province of Wardak, and more than a dozen insurgents arrested in two operations in the southern province of Paktika, the statement added.(dpa)