By DPA
Kabul : One US-led coalition soldier and over 80 suspected Taliban fighters were killed and 20 arrested in separate clashes and operations in southeastern Afghanistan, officials said Saturday.
One Coalition Forces soldier was killed and two were wounded when they were attacked by small-arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire around 5.45 a.m. Saturday near Langar village in Helmand province, US military said in a statement.
"Two Coalition Forces soldiers were injured in the engagement and are receiving medical care at a Coalition treatment facility. Their conditions are unknown at this time," the statement said.
It did not identify the soldiers, but majority of the forces serving under coalition forces' command in Afghanistan are Americans.
Meanwhile, NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) forces spotted over 50 "enemy fighters" in Bermel district of Paktika province on late Friday, Major John Thomas ISAF spokesman said.
Thomas said the joint Afghan and ISAF forces directed artillery fire at the fighters and called in air strikes.
Major Donald Korpi, another ISAF spokesman, said that up to 60 militants were killed both in ground fighting and airstrike.
Meanwhile, nearly 20 members of the Taliban were killed in fighting in Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar, the US military said Saturday.
The heavy fighting lasted more than seven hours around Shah Wali Kot. No civilians were injured, the US military said.
A separate NATO air strike in Helmand province injured 25 civilians, police said.
Afghan and Coalition Forces also detained 20 militants in operations early Saturday against Al Qaeda militants at three compounds in Giro district of Ghazni Province, a separate US military statement said.
"Coalition forces acted on credible intelligence that pointed to the various compounds as sheltering Al Qaeda fighters," the statement said, adding, "Al Qaeda fighters fired rocket propelled grenades and machine guns at the Coalition forces as they approached one of the compounds; the forces returned fire, killing the assailants."
A search of the compound from which the attack was launched turned up an RPK machine gun with 250 rounds of ammunition, an AK-47 with four full magazines, and two fragmentation grenades, the statement said.