Kabul - An Afghan police official and 12 Taliban militants were killed near Kabul city, while four other policemen were killed by a roadside bomb in the eastern region, officials said Tuesday. The chief of the criminal section for the Mosayee district of Kabul province was killed by during a police operation in the district on Monday, an interior ministry statement said.

It said 12 armed Taliban were killed by Afghan forces in the combat about 15 kilometres south of Kabul city.

Earlier this year, some 3,000 US soldiers were deployed to Logar and Wardak provinces that border Kabul city to stop the Taliban's advance towards the capital city.

The insurgents have gained strength in the past three years and extended their writ to wider swathes of the country.

Four Afghan police forces were also killed by a roadside bomb in Zurmat district of south-eastern province of Paktia on Monday, the ministry said in a separate statement.

Afghan police forces have borne the brunt of Taliban-led attacks in the past seven years since the ouster of the Islamic regime in late 2001.

Police are less trained and equipped than soldiers, and are stretched out to wider areas of the country, making them more vulnerable. More than 2,000 police were killed in
2007 and 2008.

Around 70,000 international forces deployed from 42 nations are stationed in Afghanistan. More than 25,000 additional combat troops and military trainers are expected to arrive before the presidential elections in August.(dpa)