Afghan government forces have clashed with suspected Taleban and al-Qaeda fighters near the southern city of Kandahar. Local officials said both sides used heavy weapons in the fighting, which broke out in the mountainous area of Shawali Kot north of the city. There have been no details of casualties. The clashes were in the province where US-led coalition forces last week attacked a cave complex, near the Pakistani border, which was believed to have been used by fighters loyal to the pro-Taleban warlord, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. A Dutch military official said that two Dutch F-16 aircraft bombed the cave complex on Tuesday as part of a follow-up to the attack. (BBC)