Taliban fighters opened fire on Saturday with machineguns and rocket-propelled grenades on the coalition and Afghan army patrol from a trench near Musa Qala in Helmand province, a town held by insurgents. “The combined patrol immediately returned fire, manoeuvered, and employed close air support resulting in almost seven dozen Taliban fighters killed during a six hour engagement,” the US military statement said.

Such large pitched battles are relatively rare in Afghanistan, where the Taliban prefer to “shoot and scoot” before air strikes can be called in. But analysts say the insurgents are expected to fight hard to defend Musa Qala where they are heavily dug in after taking control of the town in February.

A Taliban official denied any insurgents had been killed around Musa Qala and accused forces of dropping bombs on civilians.

The Taliban hanged three men in Musa Qala on Saturday, accusing them of spying for foreign forces. Two were strung up at the town entrance and the other in the town centre.

Meanwhile, the coalition forces have launched a series of reconnaissance patrols around Musa Qala.

Elsewhere, several Taliban insurgents were killed after an ambush on the coalition troops in neighboring Kandahar province, the US military said.