International troops kill Taliban militants in east Afghanistan

Khost: Fourteen Taliban insurgents were killed in coalition airstrikes on Tuesday when the militants attacked a small town in eastern Afghanistan, the Interior Ministry said.

The militants attacked a police station in the district centre of Sayed Karam in Paktia province overnight and international troops responded with airstrikes.

"This incident which lasted until morning and resulted in bombing by international forces killed 14 insurgents and wounded four more with support from national police," the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The insurgents were from Pakistan, Chechnya and Uzbekistan, it said.

The Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed an incident in Paktia, but could not immediately confirm the number of insurgents killed or exactly where the attack took place.

A spokesman for ISAF's eastern command said: "During the night Afghan National Police started receiving small arms fire in a district centre in western Paktia. An unmanned aerial vehicle identified several militants and close airstrikes were called in. Several militants were killed.''