45 Taliban killed in Afghanistan battle

Airstrikes and Afghan army gunfire killed more than 45 suspected Taliban fighters in a clash in a southern province just as the holy month of Ramadan began, the US-led coalition said.

The battle in the southern province of Uruzgan yesterday began when insurgents attacked a joint Afghan army and US-led coalition patrol with rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire, the coalition said.

Afghan soldiers “cleared” Taliban fighters from firing positions within the village of Aduzay, while attack aircraft destroyed some fighting positions, it said.