Forty Afghan rebels were killed in a battle in a southern province this week and not about 20 as initially stated, the US military said today.
The battle was the bloodiest in many months in southern Afghanistan, where Taliban insurgents have stepped up attacks in recent weeks after a winter lull.
One Afghan police officer was killed in the battle in Dai Chopan district of Zabul province. Six US personnel and five Afghan policemen were wounded, the US military said.
The US military routinely describes Taliban fighters and their Islamic allies as insurgents, not distinguishing between factions, but Afghan police said the rebels were Taliban.
No Taliban official could be reached for comment, but the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press news agency quoted a Taliban official on Wednesday as saying five Taliban fighters and 15 US and Afghan soldiers had been killed.
Scores of people, most of them militants, have been killed in the surge in violence over recent weeks in the south and east of the country where the rebels have been most active.
