One policeman and two Taliban militants have been killed in the southern Zabul province of Afghanistan, said a local official on Friday.

"Some Taliban militants attacked a police post in Shah Jui district of Zabul at around 10:00 p.m. on Thursday," said Ghulam Jailani, deputy police chief of the province.

One policeman and two Taliban militants were killed in the clash, which lasted one and a half hours, he added.

Zabul has been a hotbed of Taliban militants, who have attacked government and foreign troops frequently.

Due to rising Taliban-linked insurgence this year, Afghanistan has plunged into the worst spate of violence since the Taliban regime was toppled in late 2001.

More than 2,400 people, mostly Taliban rebels, have been killed over the past nine months in the country.

Source: Xinhua