60 suspected Taliban, 5 troops killed in fighting

The fighting, the latest in a dramatic upsurge of violence in Afghanistan that has left around 350 people dead, erupted Tuesday after an Afghan army patrol came under attack in volatile Uruzgan province.

"We launched a massive search and clean-up operation after the attack in which our troops spotted and killed 60 Taliban," said General Rahmatullah Raufi, who commands Afghan forces in the south.

Four soldiers were killed, he said. A policeman also died in the attack, the ministry of interior said.

Three soldiers and three police were also wounded in the fighting near Tirin Kot, the provincial capital, Raufi said.

Uruzgan sees regular clashes between security forces and militants loyal to the ultra-Islamist Taliban regime that was overthrown by a coalition led by the United States in late 2001.

A US soldier with the coalition was killed and seven wounded in a battle in the province on Friday, the coalition said. Twenty "enemy fighters" were killed in battle, it said.

Afghanistan has in the past week seen some of the worst fighting since the fall of the Taliban, as the militia steps up its four and a half year insurgency, backed by other Islamic outfits including al-Qaeda.

There are more than 30,000 foreign troops from nearly 40 countries in Afghanistan to help the government put down the revolt and extend its authority to stabilise the country, which has suffered conflict for the past 30 years.

The insurgency traditionally heats up when the weather warms but military analysts have said the violence is particularly bad this year with the Taliban appearing better organised than in the past.