Nato officials in Afghanistan say one of their soldiers was killed when insurgents attacked a base in the southern province of Kandahar.

The attackers detonated a car bomb at the entrance to the Zhari base south of Kandahar city, before other militants opened fire.

Officials say nine gunmen took part in the attack – Nato said all were killed.

Nato-led combat troops are due to leave Afghanistan at the end of 2014 after 13 years fighting the Taliban.

Last week, a Taliban spokesman told the BBC the militants are “confident of victory” over Nato-led forces and already control large areas of the country.

Presidential elections are due in April, which the Taliban say are a “fake process”.