KABUL, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces killed 14 Taliban insurgents in two separate clashes in the southern province of Helmand, the Defence Ministry said on Tuesday. Nine Taliban insurgents were killed in an air-strike in the Kajaki district of Helmand on Monday when Taliban tried to ambush Afghan soldiers, a ministry statement said. "Based on intelligence about a Taliban ambush, we called in air power which killed nine violent extremist Taliban," it said. Meanwhile, Afghan and U.S.-led coalition soldiers killed five Taliban insurgents in the Garmser district of the same province on Moonday when Taliban fighters attacked Afghan and coalition troops, the statement said. The U.S.-led coalition says hundreds of Taliban fighters have been killed in fighting in the last month. The have Taliban admitted some losses but say Afghan and foreign troops greatly exaggerate death tolls. Elsewhere, a convoy of Swedish troops came under attack on Tuesday close to the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, but there were no casualties, an ISAF spokesman said, adding it was too early to clearly identify the nature of the attack. More than 7,000 people have been killed in the past 19 months in Afghanistan, the bloodiest period since the U.S led Afghan forces toppled the Taliban in 2001.
