The Islamist "terrorists" were killed in clashes in the volatile Charchino district of Uruzgan province over the past 24 hours, the interior ministry said in a statement. There were no casualties to the Afghan and the US forces, the government said. The operation involved ground and air attacks, Uruzgan police chief Juma Gul Himat said.
Separately, a Taliban commander and four of his guards were killed in a police operation in Deh Rawood district of the same province on Tuesday, said the statement.
The Taliban, whose regime was toppled in 2001 by a US-led offensive, have stepped up their attacks in recent years.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan is in "crisis" and risks becoming a divided state, as Taliban insurgents now control vast areas of unchallenged territory, a think tank warned on Wednesday. The Senlis Council called for the Nato-led force in the country to be doubled in size to 80,000, after a study found that 54 per cent of Afghan territory has a permanent Taliban presence.
"The security situation has reached crisis proportions," said Norine MacDonald of the think tank, which has offices in London, Paris, Brussels and Kabul. "The insurgency now controls vast swaths of unchallenged territory including rural areas, border areas, some district centres, and important road arteries," she added.