The raid was carried out in Deh Rawood, one of the most insurgency-hit districts in Uruzgan province, U.S. military spokesman Major Mark McCann said.

"Four anti-coalition militia were killed and one was wounded," he told AFP.

The injured suspect was detained by the troops.

McCann said the militants "were bad people -- they were not good guys." But he would not elaborate on the reason for the violent raid.

Deh Rawood, some 400 kilometers (240 miles) southeast of Kabul is in the heart of the Taliban stronghold and is a known hotspot for attacks on U.S. forces hunting Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters.

In Uruzgan's Tirin Kot district militants fired on a U.S. army convoy Wednesday but there were no casualties, the major said.

Fighters loyal to the Taliban regime who were ousted by a U.S.-led military campaign in late 2001 are still waging a bitter insurgency against U.S. and Afghan forces, aid workers and officials.

At least 21 people have been killed in Taliban-related violence since the October 9 presidential election, which was won by the U.S.-backed interim leader of the past three years Hamid Karzai.

A 18,000-strong coalition force under the leadership of the United States is in Afghanistan to hunt down militants, mainly along the 2,400-kilometre (1,500-mile) border with Pakistan.

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