KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces killed about 82 militants in battles.
On Friday, troops fought more than 40 extremists during a five-hour gunbattle near the village of Mirabad, northeast of the capital in southern Uruzgan province.
Most of the militants were believed killed, the coalition said. No coalition or civilian injuries were reported.
In a separate assault, Afghan and coalition forces battled a large group of militants in the Zharie district of Kandahar province, killing about 25 during the three hours of fighting.
"Several extremists broke contact by using innocent Afghan civilians as shields to escape into nearby villages," a military statement said.
Another 17 insurgents were killed Wednesday after coalition forces surprised them setting up an ambush site near Tirin Kot, the capital of Uruzgan province.
Coalition forces have launched a large offensive against Taliban forces to stop a wave of suicide attacks and ambushes in the last few months.
More than 10,000 Afghan, British, Canadian and American troops are deployed across Kandahar, Helmand, Uruzgan and Zabul provinces � areas where Taliban forces have regrouped and gained strength and sympathy.
More than 200 insurgents have been killed since Operation Mountain Thrust began earlier this month, according to the coalition.
The Afghan defense ministry said 149 militants have been killed, 32 wounded and 61 were arrested in the operation. Three Afghan soldiers were killed and 14 others injured.
"Mountain Thrust is one of the biggest operations in the south of the country. As we enter the second week of this operation, we have made very good achievements," said spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi.
On Friday, provincial officials in Zabul said the decapitated bodies of four men, who were abducted at gunpoint earlier in the week, were discovered in Shahjoy district near the village of Chinoh.
A purported Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousof Ahmadi, contacted The Associated Press and said the men had been killed because they had been spying for Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces.
Ali Khail, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said the victims were civilians with no links to the Afghan government or coalition forces.