65 Taliban ultras killed in Afghan clash

KANDAHAR (Afghanistan): Sixty Taliban and five members of the Afghan security forces were killed in a major new clash in Afghanistan on Wednesday as the US-led coalition defended itself against mounting criticism of civilian deaths.

The suspected insurgents were killed in a fierce six-hour battle and subsequent clean-up operation in southern Uruzgan province late Tuesday, a top Afghan general and the coalition said.

The Afghan army called in coalition air support, said General Rahmatullah Raufi, who commands Afghan forces in the south. Four soldiers and a policeman also died, he and a police spokesman said.

The fighting started when a joint Afghan and coalition combat patrol returned fire after several Taliban rebels hiding in a nearby compound shot at them, a coalition statement said.

"Afghan and coalition forces beat back the attack with heavy machine gun fire and forced the attackers to retreat. Enemy fighters then attempted to reinforce with additional militants from two nearby compounds," it said.

The coalition put the militant death toll at 24. The coalition and Afghan forces often give differing casualty figures. Uruzgan is among several provinces that have seen  major clashes in the past week in a spike in insurgency-linked fighting that has killed close to 400 people, most of them rebels.

A 1,400-strong force of Dutch troops is headed to the province as part of a NATO-led force that will take over from the coalition in the volatile south in the coming weeks.