Afghan security forces backed by foreign troops killed eight Taliban-linked insurgents during operations in troubled southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, authorities said.
Seven rebels were killed in a sweep in the province of Uruzgan, an infamous Taliban hotbed near the Pakistani border, the interior ministry said.
Another militant was killed and a suspect detained during an operation in neighbouring Kandahar, the US military said.
US forces also said an air strike on Tuesday destroyed a Soviet-era "anti-aircraft weapon system" in Helmand, another Taliban flashpoint.
"Coalition Forces learned through villagers? reports that militants in Nad Ali had obtained a ZPU-1 anti-aircraft gun and were staging it on the back of a pick-up truck for use against friendly forces," it said.
Taliban rebels generally lack anti-aircraft weaponry although the Islamist fighters have been able to down some military helicopters since launching an uprising after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.
Sixteen American servicemen were killed in 2006 when rebels shot down a Chinook helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade in the mountains of eastern Kunar province.
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