More than 50 insurgents killed in Afghan fighting

(CNN) -- More than 50 insurgents were killed in a 12-hour battle pitting Taliban militants against Afghan security forces and coalition troops in restive southern Afghanistan, the coalition statement released Thursday said.

The fighting took place just north of the village of Qal'eh-ye Gaz, in northern Helmand province, where NATO and Afghan forces have been squaring off with Taliban militants.

The coalition said militants based in 16 compounds fired at an Afghan patrol, using rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns and small-arms weapons.

Afghan and coalition forces returned fire and summoned warplanes, which dropped two bombs on the compounds that had "the greatest concentration of insurgents."

According to the coalition, there were no reports of major injuries to civilians, Afghan security or coalition forces. The fighting ended early Thursday.

The battle comes two days after NATO said that Afghan and NATO troops launched another operation against the Taliban in northeastern Helmand province -- with this one in the Upper Gereshk valley, an area neighboring Qal'eh-ye Gaz village.

The operation -- called "Chakush" or "Hammer" -- began in the area between Heyderabad and Mirmandab, northeast of Gereshk. A few thousand troops from Afghanistan and NATO are involved.

On Thursday the coalition reported a heavy concentration of Taliban insurgents in the Musa Qala area, which is just north of Qal'eh-ye Gaz and Gereshk in Helmand province.

The coalition said it believes the militants are using the area as a base of support and will "stay and defend the area rather than using their normal hit-and-run tactics."

Based on a coalition count, more than 160 insurgents have been killed near the Musa Qala district since Sunday.

That area was overrun in early February by about 300 Taliban militants who pushed out a locally raised force of auxiliary police loyal to the Afghan government.

A few days after the Taliban stormed the district's center, NATO forces killed a "key" Taliban commander.

The Taliban is the Islamic movement that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 and allowed the al Qaeda terrorist network to train and operate from its territory.

A U.S.-led invasion deposed the Taliban after the September 11, 2001, al Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington, but the movement has regained strength in southern Afghanistan since then. E-mail to a friend

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