KABUL, Afghanistan - A U.S. Marine and an Afghan soldier were killed during battles with militants in eastern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said today.

Four other Afghan soldiers were wounded in Thursday's clash in Kunar province. The forces were conducting operations ahead of next month's legislative elections, which Taliban militants have vowed to disrupt.

Two U.S. soldiers also were killed Thursday when a homemade bomb hit an American convoy supporting crews improving a road from the main southern city of Kandahar to outlying mountains. Two other soldiers were wounded, the military said in a statement.

A surge of violence since winter has killed about 1,000 people in Afghanistan - 60 American soldiers among them. Militants have stepped up assaults in the south and east trying to sabotage the U.S.-backed recovery, while U.S. and Afghan troops answer with their own offensives.