More than 750 people have died in militant-related violence since last August, the bloodiest period since the Taliban's fall.
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U.S. and Afghan forces backed by air strikes have killed 23 militants in southern Afghanistan during a drive to improve security for September elections, Afghan officials say.

At least two U.S. soldiers and several Afghan fighters were wounded in the action in the rugged Dai Chopan region of Zabul province on Tuesday, said Jan Mohammad Khan, the governor of neighbouring Uruzgan province where the Marines are based.

"Among the 21 Taliban killed in the fighting, we found a Chechen with his passport," he told Reuters by telephone from the scene. He said the dead also included a mid-ranking Taliban commander named Mullah Janam.

The success or otherwise of the polls could be a factor in U.S. President George W. Bush's own bid for re-election later this year, especially given U.S. problems in Iraq.

The Taliban have vowed to disrupt the polls and election workers have been among the non-combatants they have targeted.

The polls have already been put off from June because of militant activity, mainly in the south and east near the border with Pakistan, which has hampered voter registration.

The violence has also severely disrupted vital aid and reconstruction work. Last Wednesday, five aid workers from the non-governmental organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres, three of them foreigners, were killed in northern Afghanistan.