US forces said a US and Afghan army patrol killed 35 militants and wounded 13 others in Zabul province, east Afghanistan, when their convoy came under attack.
Violence has reached its highest levels in Afghanistan since the US-led overthrow of the Taliban in 2001, and east Afghanistan, which borders Pakistan, is seeing an influx of US troops as part of Washington's 21,000 troop expansion.
"The Afghan-led force was conducting a combat reconnaissance patrol early this morning, when the convoy came under heavy fire from militants using small arms and mortar fire," said the statement, released late yesterday.
The statement added that the patrol was being led by the Afghan army, which tends to be accompanied by US military units tasked with mentoring and supporting the Afghan soldiers on operations and in battle.
The incident happened on the same day the US military said American and Afghan troops killed 29 militants in neighbouring Paktika province in a firefight in Wor Mamay district.
Reuters