The Defence force has released details of two major combat operations targeting the Taliban in southern Afghanistan.

Special Forces soldiers are said to have killed around 80 Taliban fighters in a series of running battles over three weeks.

And other soldiers involved in mentoring the Afghan National Army have cleared an area where Taliban insurgents killed Australian Corporal Mathew Hopkins last month.

Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon has been with the troops to commemorate Anzac Day at their base in Taren Kowt.

Mr Fitzgibbon says the battles show the fight is worth continuing.

"I think too often they hear the bad news, particularly when we suffer fatal casualties, I think these briefings are important to demonstrate that we are making real progress," he said.

The latest battle, amongst the opium poppies just 12 kilometres from Australia's main base at Taren Kowt, is being hailed as a major blow to the Taliban.

When Australian soldiers caught three insurgents trying to lay a mine on a trail they moved in.

But the Taliban did not just melt away, with around 40 of them moving in to join the fight.

The Australians called in their own reinforcements and hit back hard.

They were on the same sort of mission as the one that claimed the life of Corporal Mathew Hopkins last month.

Lieutenant Colonel Shane Gabriel from the Mentoring Task Force says the incident occurred in an area which previously had a heavy Taliban presence.

"This was a very significant action. It resulted in numerous insurgent casualties it has pushed them back from an area where they thought they enjoyed relative freedom of action," he said.

"It has put a very large hole in their plans."

The Taliban used a safe house to make their stand but the Australians called in an American fighter bomber for support.

When 10 Taliban tried to escape they were cut off by Australian Special Forces who killed some before discovering a large store of weapons and roadside bombs.

Lieutenant Colonel Gabriel says the battle has weakened the insurgent presence in the area.

"This action certainly has had a significant blow to the insurgent efforts to try and prosecute their operations in Uruzgan province," he said.

He also paid tribute to Corporal Hopkins and said Anzac Day was a time that all Australians should remember those that had laid down their lives for their country.

Local commanders say the battle was a breakthrough because it has given them control of a key countryside and pushed the Taliban further away from civilians nearby.

Taliban pushed back

Special forces soldiers had an even bigger victory last month further south, in the neighbouring Helmand province.

In an operation dubbed 'Blue Sword' they say they killed an estimated 80 Taliban fighters.

However it was in this operation, on March 19, that Sergeant Brett Till was killed and four other soldiers wounded.

General Mark Kelly, Commander of Middle East operations, said the operation lasted for 26 days, with the troops in battle for up to nine hours a day.

"The key objective of the operation was to disrupt the insurgents in northern Helmand province in order to support Afghan National Security Force and coalition framework security operations," he said.

"To break down this insurgency domination of these particular areas we now can see those voids being filled by Afghan security forces as well as other coalition [troops]."

On one day alone forces discovered 14 improvised bombs.

Major General Kelly says the Australians also killed a key Taliban bomb maker, Mullah Abdul Bahri.

National Security correspondent Matt Brown and staff