Kabul  - Three civilians were killed and as many were wounded in a roadside attack in south-eastern Afghanistan on Sunday morning, while Taliban militants attacked a police patrol in southern region, killing four and wounding seven officers, official said.

The three civilians were killed and three others wounded when their vehicle was struck by a remote-controlled mine in Nader Shahkot district of south-eastern Khost province on Sunday morning, Mohammad Ayoub Khan, provincial police chief said.

He said the wounded men were evacuated to hospital and that he had assigned a police unit to track down the attackers.

He did not immediately hold any group responsible for that attack, but he admitted that such attacks in the past were carried out by Taliban militants.

Meanwhile, Taliban militants attacked a police foot patrol in Gerishk district of southern Helmand province on Saturday night, killing four police officers and wounding seven others, Khair Mohammad Sheja, district police chief said.

Sheja said the fighting, which lasted for more than one hour also left several militants dead, adding that Afghan police arrested two wounded insurgents on Sunday morning in the same area where the firefight took place over the night.

The poorly trained and equipped Afghan police sustained heavy casualties in Taliban-led attacks mainly in southern region of the country with more than 900 policemen killed in 2007. The total death toll last year reached more then 8,000 people, mostly insurgents. (dpa)