Kabul - Afghan police and international forces killed five Taliban insurgents and arrested five others in southern Afghanistan, while two other militants were killed when the rocket they were firing, exploded in eastern region, officials said on Sunday.

Afghan and US-led coalition forces clashed with a group of Taliban insurgents in Jaldak district of southern Zabul province on Saturday afternoon after the militants attacked a convoy of trucks hauling supplies for foreign forces in the province, office for interior ministry spokesman said.

The militants attacked the convoy on the Kabul-Kandahar highway and took along a vehicle, the press officer said, adding that the combined forces chased the militants and attacked their hideout.

The gun-battle left four militants dead, while four other armed rebels were arrested during the engagement, he added.

Police killed one more insurgents and arrested another in Shah Joy district of the same Zabul province on Saturday, the press officer said, adding that there were no casualties among the combined forces.

In eastern province of Nangahar, two militants were killed when the rocket they were trying to fire at a government building, was exploded, said Abdul Ghafoor Khan, spokesman for provincial police chief.

The incident took place in Surkh Road district of province on Saturday night, Khan said, adding that police battled with another group of militants in the same district on Saturday killing and wounding several militants.

He said that militants took away the bodies of their comrades as they fled the area, but the blood pools in several spots on the battlefield suggested that they militants had sustained heavy casualties.

Afghanistan's southern and eastern province provinces are a hotbed of Taliban insurgents, whose government was toppled in a US-led military invasion six years ago. Continued fighting and bombings killed more than 8,000 people - mostly rebels but also civilians - last year. (dpa)