The US-led coalition in Afghanistan said Friday it had killed 11 Taliban militants in an operation against a network behind a series of roadside bombings, including some that killed foreign soldiers.

Another two suspected militants were arrested in the raid on Thursday in the southern province of Kandahar, the US military said in a statement.

It said the head of the extremist cell was among those killed in the district of Maiwand, a Taliban stronghold about 75 kilometres (45 miles) west of the provincial capital of Kandahar.

Militants barricaded inside a compound had opened fire on the troops who retaliated with gunfire and hand grenades.

"After neutralising the threat, the force searched the buildings, discovering 11 militants were killed," the statement said.

They also found a wounded woman inside the building who was taken to a military hospital for treatment.

The targeted cell had been responsible for "multiple roadside bomb attacks including recent attacks which killed multiple ISAF (International Security Assistance Forces) soldiers," the statement said.

There was no independent confirmation of the incident.

The NATO-led ISAF and the coalition under US command have deployed a combined total of nearly 70,000 soldiers here to help the government tackle a Taliban-led insurgency and rebuild a country devastated by decades of war.