Seven soldiers, 19 militants killed in clashes in Afghanistan

In one incident, seven personnel of Afghan Regional Army and one militant were killed and one soldier wounded during clashes in eastern Parwan province early Thursday, a provincial government spokesperson Wahida Shahkar told Xinhua.

"The fighting erupted roughly at 2:00 a.m. local time in Siagerd district. One soldier was injured and two soldiers were presumably captured by the militants," the spokesperson said.

The Afghan Regional Army deploys in remote areas to protect villages and districts where the national army has limited presence.

In southern Zabul province, 18 Taliban militants were killed in clashes with security forces and a subsequent airstrike in Shah Joy district on Wednesday afternoon, the provincial government said in a statement.

"The provincial military commission called in air support after dozen of Taliban militants stormed joint Afghan security forces' checkpoint in Shah Joy. Three children were wounded during militants' firing in the area," the statement added.

The clashes came after a three-day ceasefire between Taliban militants and government security forces was ended on Tuesday night.

The Taliban did not extend the ceasefire which was declared during the three-day Muslim's Eid al-Fitr festival despite the national and international call for extension of the brief truce.