About 60 suspected Taliban fighters have been killed in Afghanistan, many in the region where a group of South Korean hostages were recently released.
Afghan police and foreign forces took part in the operations.
Late Friday night police attacked a group of Taliban militants who were believed to be planning to strike security forces in Ghazni province in central Afghanistan. Eighteen were killed and six others were arrested.
And about 24 insurgents were killed in southern Helmand province on Friday. Militants blasted a U.S.-led coalition patrol with mortar, rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire, but troops struck back, killing "almost two dozen" insurgents, according to a coalition statement.
Another 20 insurgents were killed and 11 detained in villages in the remote Pitigal Valley border region, used as a conduit between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
U.S.-led troops and Afghan forces raided compounds in three villages in the volatile region, engaging in firefights and eventually discovering a bomb-making factory, according to a statement.
Meanwhile, Korea was defending its decision to enter into direct negotiations with the Taliban in order to secure the release of 21 remaining Korean Christian aid workers held hostage.
Two of the Koreans, both male, had already been killed.
The group was kidnapped six weeks ago in Ghazni province when militants boarded their bus.
Two of the female hostages were released last month and the final 19 were released last week after lengthy, unprecedented negotiations with the Korean government in Seoul.
The decision to enter into talks with the militants has been criticized internationally, amid suggestions the move violated international principals and could trigger further abductions.
Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon on Saturday said South Korean negotiators were trying to protect the "innocent lives of hostages" and he denied claims that South Korea paid a ransom to the Taliban, saying "there is no such thing," according to Yonhap news agency.
Within Korea, the government got credit for securing the release of the prisoners, though there were concerns that Korea may have lost credibility on the international stage for breaking the principal of not negotiating with hostage takers.
The Taliban has described the mass-kidnapping as a success and has pledged to continue with similar actions.
With files from The Associated Press
