Report: 100 militants killed in Afghanistan

updated 3:39 p.m. ET Aug. 28, 2008

KABUL, Afghanistan - A four-day battle that began with an ambush on a joint U.S.-Afghan patrol in southern Afghanistan has killed more than 100 militants, the coalition said Thursday.

Militants wielding rocket-propelled grenades, guns and mortars attacked the joint patrol in the southern province of Helmand multiple times starting Monday, the coalition said. The combined force called in fighter aircraft for support.

Capt. Scott Miller, a coalition spokesman, said he couldn't provide further details, including a more precise location of the fighting, because the battle was continuing.

The coalition statement said no Afghan, coalition or civilian casualties had been reported.

Dispute over civilian deaths
The large death toll comes about one week after the U.S. said it killed 25 militants and five civilians during an operation in the Shindand district of Herat province. Afghan officials, however, say between 76 and 90 Afghan civilians were killed in that operation last Friday. The U.S. is investigating and plans to make its findings public.

Claims of large death tolls made either by international forces or Afghan officials are almost impossible to independently verify because of the remote and dangerous locations of the battles.

Meanwhile, a roadside bomb killed a U.S. coalition soldier in southern Afghanistan on a patrol Wednesday. Neither the nationality of the soldier nor the location of the attack was released.

In the Nad Ali area of Helmand province, a fight between police and militants killed 14 insurgents late Wednesday, said Daud Ahmedi, the governor's spokesman.

More than 3,700 people, mostly militants, have died in insurgency-related violence so far this year according to an Associated Press tally of figures provided by Afghan and Western officials.

More from msnbc.com What do you remember? Take our weekly quiz ‘Three Cups of Tea’ advice for Obama Will nuclear fusion fade ... or finally flare? World Cup or world stage? N. Korea on display Afghanistan's dogs of war sniff out mines On Twitter: Breaking news updates | Weird and wild

MORE FROM SOUTH & CENTRAL ASIA

South & Central Asia Section Front

NYT: Wider Pakistan drone use OK'd U.S. Marines launch major Afghan offensive Gates signs Afghan troop surge orders 17 kids among dozens killed in Pakistan attack Bangladesh passenger boat capsizes; 47 dead Nepal holds Cabinet meeting at Everest Uighurs using missionary railway to flee China NATO to add 7,000 troops to Afghan effort Afghanistan’s dogs of war sniff out mines So, what is the actual surge strategy? South & Central Asia Section Front   Add South & Central Asia headlines to your news reader: