Multiple gunbattles leave 82 Afghan militants dead

Afghan and coalition forces killed about 82 militants in multiple assaults across southern Afghanistan, the military said on Saturday.

Afghan and coalition forces killed about 82 militants in multiple assaults across southern Afghanistan, the military said on Saturday.

On Friday, troops fought more than 40 extremists during a five-hour gunbattle after receiving enemy fire near the village of Mirabad, northeast of the capital in southern Uruzgan province, the military said in a statement.

Most of the militants, who were firing from hidden positions in an orchard, ridgeline and compound near Mirabad, were believed killed, the coalition said. No coalition or civilian injuries were reported. In a separate assault, Afghan and coalition forces battled a large group of militants in the Zharie district of Kandahar province, killing about 25 during the three hours of fighting. ‘‘Several extremists broke contact by using innocent Afghan civilians as shields to escape into nearby villages,’’ the statement said.

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Late on Friday, the coalition reported that another 17 insurgents had been killed when an enemy bunker had been destroyed in Uruzgan province on Wednesday. Coalition forces intercepted enemy fighters on Wednesday setting up an ambush site near Tirin Kot, the capital of Uruzgan province, a military statement said.

Troops ‘‘observed extremists with heavy weapons travelling back and forth from a bunker establishing an ambush site,’’ the military said. Soldiers fired on the enemy bunker, killing 17 militants.