Kabul- Afghan and international forces killed more than 60 Taliban militants in southern and western Afghanistan, while coalition forces and Afghan spy agents arrested four militants including a rebel commander, officials said Tuesday.

The combined forces were patrolling in Qalat district of the southern province of Zabul on Sunday when it took rebel fire from heavy weapons, assault rifles and snipers, the military said in a statement.

The joint forces responded with ground fire and close air support, killing 43 militants, it said, adding that a civilian working with the coalition forces was wounded by insurgent fire and was evacuated to a medical facility for treatment.

The statement did not disclose the nationality of the wounded civilian.

No Afghan or coalition soldiers were injured or killed during the incident, the statement added.

But Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousif Ahmadi said their fighters ambushed a convoy of Afghan and foreign forces in Zabul province on Sunday and killed four international soldiers and eight Afghan troops.

Ahmadi, who was talking to Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa by phone from an undisclosed location, said that following the ambush a NATO aircraft bombed the area, killing seven civilians and wounding two others.

Sixteen other militants were killed and six were wounded in a fight with Afghan and NATO-led British forces in Nad Ali district of southern Helmand province on Monday, said Assadullah Shirzad, provincial police chief.

Shirzad said that no Afghan and NATO forces were killed in the firefight.

In a separate incident, three militants were killed and one was wounded in a fight with Afghan police in the Band Sabzak area of western Badghis province on Tuesday morning, Mohammad Ayoub Neyazyar, provincial police chief said.

The wounded militant was arrested by police forces and was taken to hospital for treatment, he said, adding that no policemen were killed in the incident.

Meanwhile, coalition forces and Afghan intelligence agents arrested four militants including a rebel commander in Panjwayi district of southern Kandahar province, US military said in a statement.

Hafiz Abdul Khaliq, a known Taliban commander, believed responsible for several attacks in the province against Afghan and coalition forces, was arrested along with the other three militants on Sunday, the statement said.

More than 4,000 people - mostly insurgents - have been killed in Afghanistan this year, according to figures provided by Afghan and international military sources.

The southern region including Zabul province is the main hotbed for Taliban militants, who were ousted from power in a US-led military invasion in late 2001. (dpa)