U.S. and Afghan forces called for air support on Sunday after Islamist fighters ambushed a military patrol with a suicide car bomb in Helmand province, the heartland of Afghanistan's poppy growing region.
A statement from the U.S. military says coalition aircraft dropped four bombs to destroy enemy compounds. It also said insurgents tried and failed to shoot down a coalition aircraft.
The U.S. military said no civilians were killed during battles which ended Monday.
The deaths of civilians during NATO and U.S. military operations in Afghanistan has been a highly contentious issue, with Afghan President Hamid Karzai calling them unacceptable.
Elsewhere in Afghanistan, the interior ministry says 14 suspected Taliban were killed during battles on Sunday in southern Zabul province. - VOA News
