KABUL, Oct 3: At least 31 militants linked to Afghanistan’s toppled Taliban regime were killed in clashes with government forces near the border with Pakistan, the defence ministry said on Monday.

Afghan National Army (ANA) troops killed 28 insurgents who attacked an security post near the border in the southeastern province of Paktika late Sunday, ministry spokesman Mohammed Zaher Azimi told AFP.

The attack at the Angor Ada post sparked a clash lasting several hours. “Twenty-eight bodies of the enemy were left at the site, four ANA soldiers were wounded and one of the wounded is in critical condition,” Azimi added.

The Afghan army seized two Russian-made rocket launchers and 10 rockets.

A second military source said the militants had been able to cross over from Pakistan under the cover of rockets apparently fired from Pakistani territory.

Another three militants were killed after they ambushed a truck transporting supplies for US-led coalition forces in the Sarobi area of the province, he said. A civilian driver was also killed.

“An ANA patrol got to the area. As a result of a heavy exchange of fire, three enemy elements were killed and two of them were arrested with two AK-47 rifles. Two ANA officers were also wounded,” Azimi said.

He blamed the attacks on the “enemies of Afghanistan”, a term often used for militants linked to the Taliban regime.

In another attack on Sunday, two Afghan soldiers were wounded in a clash with suspected militants in neighbouring Zabul province, Azimi said.

On Saturday in southern Kandahar province, three suspected militants were captured, including a local Taliban commander named as Agha Jan, he said. Seventeen AK-47 rifles were also confiscated.—AFP