The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Kabul

Two British soldiers were killed Wednesday and 40 more rebels reported dead in new clashes in Afghanistan, including in an area where the Taliban held 19 South Koreans hostage until last week.

The fresh bloodshed comes after days of heavy batles between Taliban fighters and international troops that has left more than 300 rebels dead in just over a week, according to an AFP count based on reports.

Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces killed more than 40 insurgents in a 12-hour batle in a restive southern province, taking the guerrilla death toll to nearly 200 in a fortnight, the U.S. military said on Thursday.

Suspected Islamist Taliban insurgents ambushed a coalition patrol in villages in Kandahar province's Shah Wali Kot district with small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades, the U.S. military said in a statement Kandahar has been the site of repeated clashes in recent months.

"The extremist fighters were visually observed firing on the patrol from compounds located within the villages," the statement said. "Throughout the engagement, insurgents reinforced their positions with an estimated 150 additional fighters. Coalition aircraft destroyed the positively identified enemy firing positions with precision guided munitions."

The Taliban said they were unaware of any ground fighting in the Shah Wali Kot district on Wednesday, but said they had downed an American helicopter in the area.