KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan 11, SPA -- NATO on Thursday said as many as 150 insurgents were killed in a battle in eastern Afghanistan, the Associated Press reported. The fighters were hit by ground fire and air strikes, NATO said. Gen. Murad Ali, the Afghan army regional deputy corps commander said the insurgents had come with several trucks of ammunition. A NATO statement said that «initial battle damageestimates» indicated that as many as 150 fighters werekilled. Ali said more than 50 fighters were killed. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, the spokesman for the Ministry ofDefense, estimated the toll at 80.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/417202