Kabul - Afghan interior ministry claimed on Saturday that their forces killed more than 100 Taliban insurgents in operation to retake Taliban-held town, while a suicide bomber in eastern region wounded eight including four coalition soldiers, officials said.

The operation to retake Bakwa district in south-western province of Farah started on late Thursday, Interior Ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said.

"More than 100 Taliban militants including five of their commanders were killed in operation, which was still ongoing and was led by Afghan police and army soldiers," Bashary said.

He said forces entered the centre of district on Friday, pushing back hundreds of fighters from the main town. Bashary also said that two Afghan police forces were also killed in this operation.

Afghan forces captured the town around eight months after the militants overran the district and held sway there.

Afghan forces also retook the control of Shaidan district in southern Ghazni province on Friday after the Taliban militants swept through the district, taking hostage the district governor and eight police officers.

Taliban stormed Shaidan district on late Thursday night and then fled the area after burning governmental buildings and vehicles.

Meanwhile, a suicide bomber Saturday rammed his explosives- packed vehicle into a convoy of coalition forces in eastern Nangarhar province, killing himself and wounding four soldiers and as many civilians, police said.

The attack took place in Jalalabad city, provincial capital of Nangahar province, said Abdul Ghafour Khan, spokesman for the provincial police chief.

He said that four Afghan civilians were wounded and five civilian vehicles were also damaged in the city-centre attack.

Captain Christian Patterson, US-led coalition spokesman, confirmed the four of soldiers were wounded, but did not disclose their nationalities.

The attack came two days after another suicide attack killed three Afghan civilians and wounded four coalition soldiers in Kabul.

Taliban militants carried out more than 160 suicide attacks in Afghanistan last year, the record year since the ouster of Taliban regime in late 2001. (dpa)