Coalition war planes bombed and destroyed a bomb-making cell in central Afghanistan, in an encounter that left three insurgents dead and one foreign soldier wounded, the force said. Afghan and coalition troops had gone to the compound in the central province of Ghazni on intelligence that it housed a cell making \"improvised explosive devices\", bombs often used in the Taliban-led insurgency. \"When the combined force attempted to peacefully search the compound and ask residents to come out for questioning, enemy personnel inside the compound began firing and wounded one coalition solider,\" it said in a statement. \"The combined force called in close-air support and killed three suspects in the engagement.\" The compound housed \"improvised explosive device facilitators\" and only men, it said on Monday. During the fighting, a weapons cache blew up and caused extensive damage. Doors inside the compound were later found to be booby-trapped with grenades and rocket-propelled grenade rounds. Racks of small arms and ammunition were discovered strewn around the courtyard, the statement said. The troops called in a second air strike that \"was directed to destroy the explosives in the remaining compound buildings.\" Ghazni is about 100 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of the capital Kabul, which saw a surge in bomb attacks a few weeks ago that included suicide bombings. This year has seen a spike in such attacks across the country. (AFP)