NATO says its troops have killed a senior insurgent and nine of his associates in southern Afghanistan.
The international force announced Monday that Maulawi Hassan was killed Saturday in a raid on his compound in Helmand province.
Also Monday, Afghan officials say Taliban fighters ambushed a police patrol in neighboring Kandahar province, killing eight officers.
Southern Afghanistan is the center of the Taliban insurgency. Two NATO troops were killed in a hostile incident in the same region Sunday.
U.S.-led forces have been fighting the Taliban since late 2001.
U.S. President Barack Obama said in an interview televised Sunday that his country must have an "exit strategy" in the war.
He said he is looking for a comprehensive strategy that could include boosting Afghanistan's economic capacity, and improving Washington's diplomatic efforts in Pakistan.
The U.S. has been reviewing its policy toward Afghanistan and may announce its new plan this week.
The president said in the interview Sunday that the top U.S. priority in Afghanistan is making sure al-Qaida can not attack the U.S., its interests, or its allies.
He has decided to send an extra 17,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan to try to control election-related violence ahead of the August polls.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
