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 coalition said it believes the militants are using the Musa Qala area as a base of support, CNN reported. 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.
