Nine anti-government militants were killed as Afghan and the U.S.-led coalition forces encountered their attacks in Afghanistan's southern Uruzgan province, a local official said Friday.

"A group of armed militants attacked the checkpoints of the Afghan National Army (ANA) in Khas district on Thursday at 10:00 p. m., but police and coalition soldiers reached to ANA rescue killing nine enemies," the district chief of Khas told Xinhua.

Six more militants were wounded and another made captive, he added.

There were no casualties on the Afghan and coalition sides, said the official.

Meantime, Qari Yusuf Ahmadi, who claimed to speak for the Taliban militants, said that nine Afghan soldier were killed in the firefight lasted for about four hours.

Only one Taliban fighter, according to Ahmadi was killed in the conflict. The purported Taliban spokesman also claimed responsibility for a suicide attack in the southeast Khost province the other day.

More than 1,000 people, mostly militants have been killed in Taliban-linked insurgency since January this year in the post- Taliban nation.

Source: Xinhua