9 militants killed in Afghan blast, airstrike

Nine militants were killed and three others wounded in eastern Afghan province of Laghman on Saturday, authorities said.
In one incident, seven militants were killed when a NATO drone fired a missile on a compound in Alishing district at around midday.
The killed militants were holding a meeting and tried to launch attack on Afghan Local Police (ALP) security checkpoints before coming under attack, the provincial government said in a statement.
Four Taliban local leaders, including Nasrat Usmani, a known insurgent's leader, were among the dead.
Earlier on Saturday, two Taliban militants were killed and three others wounded when a roadside bomb they were planting along a road went off prematurely in the neighboring Alingar district, according to the statement.
The Taliban has yet to make comments.
The Taliban insurgent group has intensified attacks over the past couple of months as the NATO and U.S. forces are withdrawing the country. The war-torn country is due to take over the responsibility for its own security from NATO-led troops by the end of year.
More than 44,000 NATO-led coalition troops, down from the peak of 130,000 in 2010, are stationed in Afghanistan. Some 30,700 of them are Americans and the United States plans to trim its forces to less than 10,000 next year.