US forces backed by helicopter gunships have killed 22 people in southern Afghanistan.
The fighting occurred last night in Shinkay district of Zabul province, a hotbed of resistance to the Afghan government, the US military said.
An army spokesman said about 40 "enemy" fighters attacked a coalition patrol, who called for assistance from two Apache helicopter gunships, which opened fire on the fighters, killing 22 of them.
Among the dead were three Arabs, the spokesman said. Another Arab was arrested. No coalition forces were hurt, he said.
The US forces seized a global positioning system, a video camera with tapes, four grenades and two assault rifles, he said.
Guerrillas loyal to the former ruling Taliban and their al-Qaeda allies are active in southern and eastern Afghanistan, despite the presence of 18,000 coalition forces who have been hunting for terrorist suspects since late 2001.
Elsewhere in Afghanistan, aid workers were abandoning the western city of Herat today after rioters burned their offices and fought with security forces over President Hamid Karzai's sacking of its warlord governor.
The UN began flying some of its 51 foreign staff from the city to the capital Kabul after weekend unrest left three people dead and more than 50 injured.
Supporters of ousted provincial governor Ismail Khan went on the rampage and clashed with Afghan and US forces, looting and burning at least two UN compounds, other offices and vehicles.