KHOST, July 27: Up to 70 Afghan militants were killed in Afghanistan on Sunday when helicopter gunships and ground forces repulsed an attack by about 100 of them near the Pakistan border, officials said.

It was the latest in a series of major battles as violence linked to a Taliban-led campaign has picked up in recent weeks with several deadly attacks and military operations going on against the militants.

About 100 Afghan militants had tried to capture the Spera district centre, 15 kilometres from the border with Pakistan, opening fire on police at about 2am with guns and rocket-propelled grenades, the invading Nato force said.

Police and soldiers from Nato’s International Security Assistance Force surrounded the attackers and called air strikes consisting of heavy machinegun fire from helicopters, an Isaf statement said.

“Some insurgents attempted to take cover in a nearby building that helicopters then struck with missiles.”

“ANP (Afghan National Police) and Isaf continued to engage the insurgents in a firefight from the ground and air until the early morning hours,” it said. The number of militants killed was in the “double-digit figures,” the invading Isaf said.

The provincial governor of Khost, which includes Spera, put the attackers’ death toll at between 50 and 70.

“They had killed one policeman in the initial attack and had captured another officer who was later beheaded,” Governor Arsala Jamal said. “As they retreated, international military forces came in and bombed them. Fifty to 70 Taliban have been killed.”—AFP