British troops killed nine suspected insurgents as Taliban militants ambushed a Canadian convoy and wounded two soldiers in southern Afghanistan, officials said yesterday.
US forces hunting an al Qaida agent detained three men in the East.
Insurgents were killed when British troops targeted them in Naw Zad district of the southern Helmand province, said Major Toby Jackman, a spokesman for the Nato-led force.
The Canadians were wounded on Monday in the Panjwayi district of southern Kandahar province, where 71 militants and five Afghan security forces were killed at the weekend.
More than 100 died - including four US troops and one Briton - in several days of intense fighting in southern Afghanistan.
The stepfather of the latest British soldier to be killed said the paratrooper was proud to serve in the Army.
Corporal Bryan Budd, aged 29, from 3 Para, was involved in a firefight with the Taliban in Sangin, in the northern part of Helmand province, on Sunday.
His stepfather Trevor Girdham said: "Bryan put his heart into everything he ever did, and was totally devoted to his wife and daughter.
"Being a soldier was his boyhood dream and he never shied away from any of his duties and was proud to serve in the British Army."
Meanwhile, senior defence sources yesterday said the next six months will be "crucial" for the success of the British mission.
Commanders acknowledged that troops in the turbulent Helmand province - where the main British force is based - had faced some "pretty intense battles" with the Taliban in recent weeks.
But officials said that it was now essential that the military operations were backed up by reconstruction efforts to prove to the local populace that they could offer a better future.
