As many as three American soldiers were killed and 14 others injured in a series of fierce engagements with suspected Taliban fighters earlier this week, theUS military confirmed Wednesday.

"On Monday coalition forces made contact with Anti-Coalition Militia (ACM) in eight separate incidents throughout the country. As a result of this fighting, three US soldiers were killed, 14 others injured," spokesman Scott Nelson told journalists here.

"Six soldiers of the Afghan National Army (ANA) were also injured and one ANA soldier was reported as missing," added the spokesman.

"One US soldier was killed in Khost and two other Americans were killed in Paktika by mortar rounds," the US army major admitted.

The southeastern provinces of Khost, Paktika, Paktia and the neighboring Zabul, Kandahar, Helmand and Uruzgan, known as the heartland of the Taliban have been the scene of increasing militancy for the past year in which over 500 rebels, US and Afghan soldiers have been killed.

It is the single heaviest casualty the US troops have ever received ahead of the Oct. 9 Afghan presidential elections since their deployment in Afghanistan nearly three years ago after the fall of Taliban regime in late 2001.

The US officer declined to disclose the names and ranks of the dead and wounded soldiers, saying "they died courageously and we offer our most heartfelt condolences and prayers to their familiesand loved ones."

However, he admitted that two injured soldiers who are currently under treatment at the Bagram airbase will be transferred to Germany for further medication.

Bagram, 50 km north of the Afghan capital, is the main base of US-led coalition in Afghanistan.

Early last week, US ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad predicted increasing insurgency as the Afghans approaching towardsthe US-style presidential polls.

The Taliban and their allies al-Qaeda and supporters of former Prime Minster Gulbudin Hekmatyar who reportedly sit together recently to re-organize their fighters have vowed to derail the upcoming Afghan polls.

"Progress is being made. Every day more and more pieces of the apparatus that once terrorized the Afghan people are being removedslowly and sanctuaries for the ACM with Afghanistan are disappearing," the US major stressed.

Source: Xinhua