KABUL, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Afghan police Tuesday morning put down the Taliban assault on a district center of southern Afghanistan's Zabul province leaving more than five insurgents dead and eight others injured, said an official.

    Sazer Bari, the chief of Day Chopan district told Xinhua that it occurred at around 4 a.m. (2330 GMT) when a group of Taliban militants launched attacked on the district center.

    "Five militants were killed and two police sustained injury in the two hours' fighting," he said.

    Afghan police also captured some weapons and ammunition as AK-47s and mortars from Taliban rebels, he added.

    Taliban militants have yet to make comment.

    Meanwhile, the U.S.-led Coalition forces in an operation eliminated one militant and arrested four others on Monday in southwestern Afghan province of Nimruz, said a Coalition statement released here on Tuesday.

    Coalition forces searched compounds in the Khash Rod district of Nimruz province targeting a Taliban leader known to smuggle weapons, facilitate roadside bombing attacks and coordinate foreign fighter movement in the area, the statement said.

    Coalition forces indentified an armed militant who attempted to engage them and responded with small-arms fire, killing the militant, it said.

    Twelve Afghan National Police uniforms and a 50-pound cache of opium were also discovered at the site, it noted.

    Attacks on Afghan and international troops are on the rise during past weeks especially in southern and eastern Afghanistan where the Taliban militants continue to demonstrate their strength through suicide and roadside bombings.

    Escalating insurgency and violent incidents have left around 2,000 people dead since January this year in the war-torn Afghanistan.