60 Taliban, one coalition soldier killed in battle in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban militants and the U.S.-led coalition fought a daylong battle in southern Afghanistan’s poppy-growing belt Tuesday, killing more than 60 Taliban fighters and one coalition soldier, military officials said.

Dozens of insurgents attacked a joint coalition-Afghan patrol near the town of Musa Qala in Helmand province with machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, the coalition said in a statement. Taliban reinforcements flowed in from Musa Qala all day, it said.

The coalition troops returned fire and called in artillery fire and attacks by fighter-bombers, leaving more than 60 of the Taliban fighters dead, the coalition said. One coalition soldier was killed and four were wounded.

The statement said there were no immediate reports of civilian deaths or injuries.

“The end is near for the Taliban that believe Musa Qala is safe from Islamic Republic of Afghanistan forces,” said Maj. Chris Belcher, a coalition spokesman. “This combined operation is just one more step to securing the Musa Qalah area of the Helmand Province.”

Taliban militants overran Musa Qala last February, four months after British troops left the town after a contentious peace agreement that handed over security responsibilities to Afghan elders. The town has been in the Taliban’s control ever since.

Situated in northern Helmand province, Musa Qala and the area around it have seen the heaviest fighting in Afghanistan this year. It is the main area for growing illicit opium poppies, a crop that allows Afghanistan to produce more than 90 percent of the world’s heroin.

More than 4,400 people — mostly militants — have died in insurgency-related violence this year, according to an Associated Press count based on figures from Afghan and Western officials.