KABUL, Dec. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- One policeman and three Taliban militants were killed Friday in a firefight between the two sides in Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar, a spokesperson of the Interior Ministry said Saturday.

    "Last night at about 12 p.m., a group of Taliban militants attacked a highway police checkpost in Maiwand district. After the firefight between the two sides, one policeman and three Taliban militants were killed," Yusuf Stanizi told Xinhua.

    "Afghan police, after the firefight, also found four rocket launchers and one AK-47," he added.

    Kandahar, together with Zabul, Helmand and Uruzgan, the former stronghold of Taliban militants, has become the hotspot this year.

    More than 1,500 people, with the majority of them Taliban militants, have been killed in the militancy, making 2005 the bloodiest year since the collapse of Taliban in 2001. Enditem