WASHINGTON/KABUL, 25 January — Fifteen Al-Qaeda fighters died and an American soldier was wounded in fighting in southern Afghanistan yesterday. US officials here said the fighting flared some 65 km (40 miles) north of Kandahar during a "search-and-destroy" mission by US Special Forces.

A number of Al-Qaeda and Taleban fighters were also captured as American troops searched two compounds believed used by former leaders of the ousted government and Al-Qaeda. The name of the wounded American and the extent of his injuries were not immediately released, but one official said the injuries were not life-threatening. Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke refused to comment on the operation.

In Kabul, an intelligence source said a senior military commander has been sent from the capital to the eastern city of Khost to end a power struggle between two rival tribal leaders. The source said that military commander Haji Mirzajal had been sent by the intelligence services to call a shoura, or council of tribal elders, in Khost to settle the dispute.

Meanwhile, the war-shattered country took another small step toward democracy with confirmation that a 21-member commission has been set up to organize a council of tribal elders to appoint a new government. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan will announce the members of the commission today in Kabul during a visit.

"There will be women on this council," said Francesc Vendrell, UN deputy special representative to Afghanistan. "In my view it will be ethnically balanced and composed of people who are independent of the various military and political forces." The 21-member council must determine procedures and the number of people who will participate in the Loya Jirga, or traditional council of tribal elders.

The formation of the council and the calling of the Loya Jirga are part of the provisions of the Bonn accord, which paved the way for the formation of the six-month power-sharing interim administration that took office in Kabul on Dec. 22.

Vendrell also said there is no concrete evidence to support claims that Iran is arming factions within Afghanistan in a bid to destabilize the country. He said he believed the claims were "exaggerated."

"There have been allegations, but allegations are simply that, rumors," he told reporters.