KABUL, Oct 28: Around 80 Taliban fighters were killed when they tried to ambush a patrol of Afghan and US-led Nato soldiers in the south of Afghanistan, the US-led coalition said on Sunday.

The coalition said the troops were forced to call in air support when they were ambushed on Saturday in the highly volatile province of Helmand.

“The combined patrol immediately returned fire, manoeuvred, and employed close air support, resulting in almost seven dozen Taliban fighters killed during a six-hour engagement,” it said in a statement.

The attackers fled after the clash in the town of Musa Qala, which has been held by the Taliban since February. The statement made no reference to any coalition or civilian casualties.

However, the Afghan commander for Helmand told AFP no troops were killed.

“Our initial assessment is that over 73 Taliban were killed in the direct fire and air bombing,” said Afghan General Mohaidin Ghori.

“The attacks took place at different hours of the day yesterday in different locations. There have been no casualties to civilians and our forces.”

Last month about 2,500 Nato and Afghan troops launched a new operation to clear Taliban fighters from the southern province.

Separately, several Taliban were killed by a joint Afghan and US-led patrol in the neighbouring province of Kandahar on Saturday, the coalition said.

“The Afghan National Security forces spotted the enemies of Afghanistan before they could carry out their attack,” said spokesman Chris Belcher.

“The patrol immediately engaged the Taliban element, killing several enemy fighters before they fled the area,” the coalition spokesman said.

Meanwhile, five police officers guarding an Indian road construction company were killed in an ambush late Saturday in the Nimroz province, the provincial governor said.—AFP