80 Reported Slain in Afghan Fighting

The U.S.-led coalition said Saturday that its troops and Afghan forces had killed more than 80 militants in fighting across southern Afghanistan. In one case, insurgents reportedly used civilians as shields to escape.

Coalition troops engaged more than 40 extremists in a five-hour gun battle Friday in the southern province of Oruzgan, the military said in a statement.

Most of the militants, who were firing from an orchard and compound, were believed killed, the coalition said.

Local Afghan commander Gen. Rahmatullah Roufi said 22 Taliban fighters were killed in the Oruzgan battle and 18 were arrested. He said three members of the coalition were injured.

Afghan and coalition forces battled militants in a separate assault in Kandahar province, killing about 25 in three hours, the coalition said.

“Several extremists broke contact by using innocent Afghan civilians as shields to escape into nearby villages,” the statement said.

Also Friday, four insurgents were killed when Taliban fighters fired rockets near coalition forces in Kandahar province, said coalition spokesman Maj. Quentin Innis.

The coalition said 17 more insurgents were killed Wednesday when their bunker was destroyed in Oruzgan province.

The coalition has launched a huge offensive against Taliban forces to stop a wave of suicide attacks and ambushes.

More than 10,000 Afghan, British, Canadian and U.S. troops are deployed across Kandahar, Helmand, Oruzgan and Zabol provinces, where Taliban forces have regrouped.

About 200 insurgents have been killed since Operation Mountain Thrust began this month, the coalition reported.