At least 14 people have been killed and 140 wounded in riots in the Afghan capital, Kabul.
Rioters torched cars and buildings in a wave of violence after US troops shot dead at least four people following a traffic accident in the north of the city.
It is understood a US military truck lost control and smashed into about 12 civilian vehicles at a busy intersection.
In a statement, US-led coalition forces said the accident, which may have been caused by faulty brakes, killed one person and injured several others.
Following the incident, crowds gathered and attacked the military vehicles with stones.
US troops then opened fire and killed at least four people.
The coalition said there were 'indications that at least one military vehicle fired warning shots over the crowd'. It said an investigation was underway.
Reports of air strikes on Taliban leaders
More than 50 Taliban guerrillas are reported to have been killed in a US-led air strike on a mosque in Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand.
The area’s deputy provincial governor, Amir Mohammad Akhundzada, said that a ground and air operation involving US-led and Afghan forces was ongoing in the district to hunt Taliban insurgents.
The news of the bombardment followed the launch of an ongoing operation by US-led troops against Taliban fighters in several parts of the south over the past two weeks.
300 people, including militants, civilians, Afghan security forces and foreign soldiers have been killed in battles in a region that has been the focus of an insurgency since US-backed forces ousted the Taliban in 2001.
Separately, five Canadian soldiers were wounded in a gun battle today after their convoy was ambushed by Taliban guerrillas in neighbouring Kandahar province.
A spokesman for the Canadian military said he suspected five assailants were killed in the encounter and said four of the wounded soldiers were in a stable condition.
The clash happened south of Kandahar, in a village from where 3,000 people have already fled because of fear of fighting.
