Kabul- US-led coalition forces killed two suspected Taliban militants in an operation in southern Afghanistan while three other suspects were detained in central Afghanistan, the US military said Thursday.

Using information provided by intelligence sources, a combined force of Afghan and coalition troops conducted an operation in the Tarin Kot district of Uruzgan province Wednesday and killed two suspected militants, the US military said in a statement.

The joint forces also seized pistols, one AK-47 assault rifle and ammunition during the operation, it said.

Separately, Afghan and coalition forces targeted militants belonging to the Haqqani network, an associate group of Taliban militants, in the Baraki Barak district of Logar province Wednesday and detained three suspects for questioning, the statement said.

More than 70,000 international troops deployed from 42 nations are stationed in Afghanistan. More than 25,000 additional foreign soldiers, the majority of them US troops, are to arrive in Afghanistan in the coming months in an effort to contain its Islamist insurgency. (dpa)