More than 165 Taliban militants have been killed in fierce fighting with coalition forces in southern Afghanistan over the past 24 hours, Nato said on Wednesday. The fighters died in two separate clashes after they attacked Nato-led troops armed with machine guns, rocket propelled grenades and mortars.
In Helmand, a battle erupted on Tuesday near the Taliban-controlled town of Musa Qala, when fighters ambushed a joint Afghan-coalition patrol. Taliban reinforcements emerged from the town — evacuated by the British in February — as the Western-led forces returned artillery fire and called in air support.
Nato said more than 100 Taliban fighters were killed while one coalition soldier was killed and four were wounded.
The alliance said there were no reports of civilian deaths or injuries but according to the BBC, local villagers said 12 civilians had died in the air strikes.
In neighbouring Uruzgan province meanwhile, Nato said more than 80 Taliban militants armed with machine guns, rocket propelled grenades and mortars and dug into bunkers, opened fire on Tuesday night on an Afghan-led patrol.
A six-hour fire-fight ensued during which air support was called in. A Nato spokesman said forces bombarded “positively identified Taliban positions, killing more than 65 insurgents”.
