MOSCOW, March 10 (RIA Novosti) - Prominent Afghan actor Nazar Mohammad Majnonyar Helmandi who starred in more than a dozen films highlighting the struggle against drug trafficking and terrorism was killed in a NATO airstrike in southern Afghanistan, Pajhwok news agency reported on Sunday.

Helmandi was killed along with three militants who had seized the movie star on suspicion of spying for the government in Helmand province, his brother Dilawar said. 

Helmandi had gone to the Khoskabi area on the outskirts of Lashkargah to inquire after his ailing sister when he was captured by the armed rebels, Dilawar told Pajhwok Afghan News.

The militants were interrogating Helmandi when the NATO airstrike took place, killing the actor and the rebels, said Dilawar, who identified his brother's body mutilated beyond recognition.

The police headquarters confirmed the airstrike, saying a local rebel commander, Mohammad Alam, was among those killed.