Fierce fighting involving U.S. warplanes and Afghan troops in southern Afghanistan left at least six Taliban rebels and three police dead, officials said Friday. Ghulam Muhiddin, the chief of administration in southern Helmand province, said 100 Afghan police and army troops were hunting dozens of militants in Sangin district, and U.S. planes had bombed the area. "Right now we have got six dead bodies of Taliban. We are expecting there will be a lot more dead bodies," he told The Associated Press. He said 13 Afghan forces were wounded, four seriously. He said four Taliban were wounded, and two of them had been arrested.Fighting began Thursday when police were deployed to the Haji Fateh area to hunt for Taliban rebels hiding there, Muhiddin said. Local police chief Abraham Jan said the fighting started after insurgents ambushed a police convoy. Clashes intensified Friday as Afghan army forces joined a search operation against the militants, with U.S. support. A U.S. military spokesman, Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara, said American forces, including A-10 war planes, responded to an initial attack on Afghan security forces by up to 30 militants. He said there were no reports of casualties among the U.S. troops, and that the fighting was ongoing.