Taliban militants killed in battles

BETWEEN 40 and 50 suspected Taliban militants have been killed in heavy fighting with Afghan forces backed by US attack helicopters and "tank buster" aircraft near the Pakistan border, the US military said yesterday.

The casualty figure, based on estimates by pilots flying in support of Afghan soldiers in the fighting on Monday, came in a statement from the US-led force of 18,000 troops hunting al-Qaida and Taliban guerrillas in Afghanistan. It gave no concrete details for the figure.

If confirmed, it would be one of the heaviest losses in recent months from a single battle for the insurgents fighting foreign and Afghan forces in Afghanistan.