Taliban fighters killed in Afghanistan clashes

Kabul: Separate clashes in Afghanistan's south and east last week killed 30 Taliban fighters, officials said on Sunday.

Twenty three militants were killed when Taliban insurgents attacked police checkpoints in Nad Ali district of southern Helmand province on Friday, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Four police were wounded and 13 other militants were detained. Police have since abandoned the checkpoints, the statement said.

Afghan and foreign troops clashed with uniformed insurgents in the eastern Paktia province on Thursday, killing seven militants, the Defence Ministry said.

Among those killed was a group commander, Mohammad Zaman, associated with the militant leader Jalaluddin Haqqani, the statement said.