KABUL, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Eighteen Taliban insurgents and one Afghan soldier were killed in a clash in the southern Zabul province of Afghanistan on Wednesday, an officer told Xinhua.

    Some Taliban militants attacked a police post in Khak Afgan district with rocket launchers and machine guns at around 3:00 a.m. local time, said Rahmatullah Raofi, a commander of the Afghan National Army.

    He said Afghan police and soldiers fought back and killed 18 militants, the bodies of whom were left on the battlefield.

    One Afghan soldier was killed and three other injured during the conflict, Raofi said.

    There were no casualties of the police, while their two vehicles were destroyed, he added.

    Zabul has been a hotbed of Taliban and other anti-government militants, who attack government targets and foreign troops frequently.

    Meanwhile, ISAF air raid killed 11 Taliban insurgents in the neighboring Kandahar province on Tuesday night.

    Some Taliban militants hid near Kandahar-Kabul highway in Jalai district and attempted to attack Afghan and ISAF troops, said Maj.Scott Lundy, a spokesman of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

    ISAF detected them and launched a preemptive air raid, he added.

    Afghanistan is suffering from a rise of Taliban-linked violence this year, during which over 1,800 people, mostly Taliban insurgents, have been killed. Enditem