More than 50 insurgents were killed in fresh fighting between Taliban-led rebels and soldiers from Afghan and international forces, the US-led coalition and police said on Wednesday.
Troops pounded suspected militants in the central province of Ghazni in battles that ended early on Wednesday, the coalition said, adding that "several militants" were killed.
Ghazni province police chief Alishah Ahamdzai said around 30 Taliban fighters had died. There was no way to independently confirm the death toll.
It was the second major operation in Ghazni since Taliban fighters believed based there released 19 South Korean hostages they had held for six weeks last week.
Sixteen fighters, including a commander involved in the kidnapping, were reported killed there early on Tuesday.
Also nearly two dozen more militants were killed in clashes on Tuesday separately in the southern province of Kandahar, the coalition announced in another statement.