Afghan police said today that a NATO air strike along a highway in southern Afghanistan killed a security guard.

Police commanders in Ghazni Province said armed guards were escorting a supply convoy to NATO bases in southern Afghanistan when they were hit.

Earlier reports said five Afghan guards had been killed.

The NATO-led coalition said it authorized the strike after its forces observed suspected insurgents setting up an ambush site in Gelan district of Ghazni Province. They later found several machine guns, a rocket-propelled grenade, and AK-47 assault rifles.

Afghan officials said there were no insurgents involved.

Meanwhile, the governor of northeastern Nooristan Province said Afghan and NATO forces killed at least 25 militants in ground and air operations overnight.

Provincial Governor Jamalludin Badr said the foreign fighters killed included Arabs, Chechens, and Pakistanis.

There are about 130,000 U.S.-led international forces deployed in Afghanistan.

compiled from agency reports