Kabul - Two army soldiers were killed in a roadside attack in southern Afghanistan, while 25 Taliban fighters including a female militant were killed in fight with Afghan and coalition forces elsewhere in the country, officials said Saturday.

The two Afghan soldiers were killed and two others were wounded when their vehicle was blown up by a roadside bomb blast in the Yakhchal area of Gerishk district in southern Helmand province on Friday, the Afghan defence ministry said in a statement.

In another three separate clashes in eastern Kunar province, US-led coalition forces killed 19 insurgents including an armed female militant and arrested three others on Friday, US military said in a statement.

Seven militants were killed in Dara Noor district of the province when coalition forces killed clashed with a group of militants, the statement said, adding that the operation targeted an al-Qaeda leader, who was "believed to be in contact with other militants in the region, coordinating attacks against coalition forces and innocent civilians."

The militants fired on combined forces as they were attempting to maneuver on the insurgents, the statement said, adding, "coalition forces returned fire, killing five armed militants, one of whom was an armed female."

The joint forces killed 12 other militants and arrested three others in two separate clashes in Nadar Shah Kot district of the same province on Friday, the statement said.

The militants killed in the operation were involved in facilitating roadside and suicide attacks in the region, the statement added.

It did not say whether there were any casualties among the coalition forces in any of those operations.

Six other militants were killed and nine others were wounded in fight with Afghan army forces in Nad Ali district of southern Helmand province on Thursday, a separate Afghan defence ministry statement said on Saturday.

The statement said the insurgents had forced the local villagers to take their wounded comrades to hospital, but the local people did not comply with the Taliban's order.

More than 4, 000 people - mostly insurgents - have been killed in the Afghanistan conflict so far this year. More 220 Afghan army soldiers have also been among those killed this year, according to defence ministry. (dpa)