Nato-led forces and Afghan troops have killed scores of Taleban fighters in the western province of Herat, a coalition statement says.
 More than 4,000 people - a quarter of them civilians - died last year | It said 87 had been killed in a 14-hour battle on Sunday - 49 died two days earlier, including a US soldier. There is no independent confirmation or word from the Taleban on the deaths. It would be their heaviest blow this year. Meanwhile in the southern province of Helmand, UK-led forces have launched a major offensive against the Taleban. Up to 3,000 Nato troops, including Afghans and US forces, are involved in Operation Silicon in the Sangin Valley. Protests The clashes in Herat are among the bloodiest the province has seen in years, reports say. Herat is near the border with Iran and officials say the area has been relatively quiet until recently. The coalition statement said US special forces accompanied by police and other coalition members had been patrolling in Zerkoh valley in Shindand district when they attacked Taleban positions with mortar, small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire. The troops called in air support which dropped "multiple munitions on several identified enemy locations". "A total of seven enemy positions were destroyed, and 87 Taleban fighters were killed during the 14-hour engagement," the statement said. Coalition spokesman Army Major Chris Belcher said Afghan police had taken part, but the Associated Press news agency quoted Shindand district police chief Gen Gul Aqa denying that Afghan police and army had been involved. "The Americans carried out an independent operation in the Zerkoh," he said. He spoke as local people gathered in front of the police station and government headquarters in Shindand district chanting "Death to America!". Helmand fighting The BBC's Alastair Leithead said the area was a Taleban stronghold and as troops moved forward, they were facing "considerable resistance". The operation aims to drive Taleban fighters from the opium-producing area. across the country, bloodshed has returned to levels not seen since the fall of the Taleban regime in 2001. Some 4,000 people are believed to have died last year in the insurgency - about a quarter of them civilians. About 30,000 coalition troops and another 10,000 US-led ones have been battling to reduce violence and boost the authority of President Hamid Karzai. | 
