The coalition said the battle went on for six hours Saturday (October 27) near Musa Qala.

A coalition statement said the fighting began when Taliban fighters attacked a U.S.-Afghan patrol with rockets and gunfire.

The joint force called in attack aircraft, resulting in heavy casualties among the militants. The coalition said four bombs were dropped on a trench line filled with Taliban fighters, resulting in most of the deaths.

The coalition has said it believes that more than 200 militants have been killed in fighting with coalition forces around Musa Qala since September.

The Taliban have for months held the town of Musa Qala, while the Helmand region is the center of Afghanistan's illegal opium poppy cultivation.