Kabul: Four suspected Taliban insurgents have been killed following air strikes and a gunbattle involving US-led coalition forces on Thursday, the military and an Afghan official reported.

An operation in the Tarin Kowt area of Uruzgan province on Wednesday targeted a group of insurgents on motorcycles and killed "a number" of militants, the coalition said.

The coalition said troops searched compounds in Uruzgan associated with a Taliban leader they were seeking, and that "a number" of militants were killed by gunfire. Three militants were arrested.