Nato troops have killed between 70 and 80 Taliban fighters in a fierce battle in southern Afghanistan, the alliance has said.
A reconnaissance patrol hunting Taliban engaged a large group of fighters yesterday about 15 km from the village of Musa Qala in Helmand, a stronghold of the Islamist guerrillas and the main opium-growing province in the world's major supplier.
In a four-hour battle backed by attack helicopters and close air support, the ground commander estimated nearly 80 guerrillas were killed, a Nato spokesman said.
There were no Nato casualties, but three soldiers from the International Security Assistance Force were wounded during another clash earlier in the day.
Fighting in Afghanistan this year is the worst since US-led forces ousted the Taliban's strict government in 2001. About 4,000 people have been killed, a quarter of them civilians.
The worst fighting is in the south and east, bordering Pakistan, the epicentre of the Taliban insurgency.
The area is also the centre of illegal opium poppy growing in the country that accounts for 90 per cent of world output.
Nato confirmed yesterday that a civilian MI-21 helicopter, with a crew of eight, chartered to ferry supplies had crashed in Kandahar province.
The Interior Ministry said at least some of those on board had died, but Nato said its ground forces had not yet reached the wreckage and it did not know the fate of the crew.
The helicopter was owned by US security and logistics firm DynCorp International.