KABUL, July 1: US and Afghan troops killed four Taliban fighters including Mullah Seddiqi, a local commander in the southern province of Zabul, provincial officials said on Thursday.

An official told Deutsche Presse Agentur, dpa that the incident occurred in Dai-Chopan district early Thursday morning when clashes erupted between Taliban fighters and US and Afghan troops patrolling the area.

All four Taliban fighters were killed on the spot, including Seddiqi, he said, adding that the US and Afghan troops suffered no casualties. However, Mufti Abdul Latif Hakimi, a Taliban spokesman told dpa that the militants also killed 10 Afghan troops during the fighting in Dai-Chopan.

Taliban fighters also destroyed two of the Afghan-American vehicles, Mufti Hakimi said. General Abul Wasi, a military spokesman in the neighbouring province of Kandahar said Afghan troops also arrested six Taliban militants during the armed clash.

The situation in Dai-Chopan is now reported to be calm, but US and Afghan troops are continuing to patrol several parts of Zabul province, according to Afghan officials. Meanwhile, three people wounded in a double bomb attack in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad died in hospital, bringing the death toll in the latest pre-election violence to four, officials said on Thursday. -Agencies