Over 40 Taliban killed in Afghanistan

AFGHANISTAN: Afghan and US-led coalition forces killed more than 40 insurgents in a 12-hour battle in a restive southern province, taking the guerrilla death toll to nearly 200 in a fortnight, the U.S. military said on Thursday.

Suspected Islamist Taliban insurgents ambushed a coalition patrol in villages in Kandahar province's Shah Wali Kot district with small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades, the US military said in a statement. "The extremist fighters were visually observed firing on the patrol from compounds located within the villages," the statement said.

"Throughout the engagement, insurgents reinforced their positions with an estimated 150 additional fighters. Coalition aircraft destroyed the positively identified enemy firing positions with precision guided munitions."

The Taliban said they were unaware of any ground fighting in the Shah Wali Kot district on Wednesday, but said they had downed an American helicopter in the area.

Kabul, Thursday, Reuters.