At least 45 Taliban militants were killed in an airstrike in Afghanistan's Helmand province, said the police.
"At least 45 militants were killed in the airstrike conducted on militants' position in Sangin district on Saturday," Xinhua quoted Shah Mahmood Ashina, spokesman of provincial police department, as saying.
The targeted insurgents tried to attack security checkpoints in the district before they came under attack, said the spokesman, adding that unknown number of militants were injured in the strikes.
Helmand, notorious for poppy-growing, is a Taliban stronghold in the country.
The Taliban has intensified attacks over the past months as the militant group tries to take territory and consolidate its positions ahead of winter in the country.
The Taliban militant group has yet to make comments.
