The U.S.-led Coalition forces on Wednesday killed 15 militants and detained six others during an early morning raid in southern Afghan province of Kandahar, said a Coalition statement.

Coalition forces were clearing a compound known to be an IED ( Improvised Explosive Device) command and control node in Anizai Zhari district when the militants opened fire at them, the statement said.

"Coalition forces returned fire with small arms weapons, killing 15 insurgents and detained six more," it said.

No Coalition forces or civilian casualties were reported, it added.

Spiraling conflicts and Taliban-linked insurgency have claimed over 5,000 people, mostly militants, so far this year in strife- torn Afghanistan as Taliban insurgents and other anti-government militants have vowed to intensify assaults against interests of Afghan government and international troops before the coming winter.

(Xinhua News Agency November 26, 2008)