The U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan says Afghan and coalition forces are initiating most of the engagements on Islamic militants in the country's restive south.
A U.S. military spokesman told a news conference in Kabul Wednesday the initiative is with the Afghan and foreign forces, not with the Taleban.
His remarks come as guerillas are stepping up attacks in the south before NATO-led troops take over control of security in the region next month.
Meanwhile the coalition forces say they killed five militants in Uruzgan province on Wednesday and 17 others in several other provinces since Sunday.
Also, a suspected suicide bomber was killed when the explosives strapped to his body detonated prematurely as he was trying to enter offices of a Turkish construction company in central Ghazni province.