On Friday, troops fought more than 40 extremists during a fivehour gun battle after receiving enemy fire near the village of Mirabad, north-east of the capital in southern Uruzgan province, the military said in a statement. No coalition or civilian injuries were reported.

In a separate assault, Afghan and coalition forces battled a large group of militants in the Zharie district of Kandahar province, killing about 25 during three hours of fighting. "Several extremists broke contact by using innocent Afghan civilians as shields to escape into nearby villages, " the statement said.

Late on Friday, the coalition reported another 17 insurgents had been killed when an enemy bunker had been destroyed in Uruzgan province on Wednesday.

Coalition forces had intercepted enemy fighters setting up an ambush site near Tirin Kot, the capital of Uruzgan province, a military statement said.

More than 10,000 Afghan, American, British, Canadian and troops are deployed across Kandahar, Helmand, Uruzgan and Zabul provinces . . . areas where Taliban forces have regrouped and gained strength and sympathy.

More than 200 insurgents have been killed since Operation Mountain Thrust got underway earlier this month, according to the coalition.