Report: 23 Taliban killed in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 1 (UPI) -- Several Taliban insurgents were reported killed in battles Tuesday in Afghanistan involving Afghan police and coalition forces.

A Xinhua news agency quoted officials as saying up to 23 suspected Taliban insurgents and four police constables died in the incidents.

A clash in the Tanai district in eastern Khost province near the Pakistan border involved a group of insurgents and police, the report said.

"It was very early this morning when police with the support of the U.S.-led Coalition forces and aircraft's backing clashed with Taliban insurgents during which 18 rebels were killed," senior police officer Gul Dad told Xinhua. He said another eight rebels were wounded.

It wasn't known if there were any casualties among the Afghan and coalition forces.

A similar battle in southern Uruzgan province killed four policemen after their van struck a land mine, senior police official Gulab Khan told Xinhua.

Separately, Afghan police told Xinhua a Taliban assault on a district center in southern Zabul province was repulsed, leaving five insurgents dead.

Separately, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force reported coalition forces and the Pakistan military "killed insurgents" along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border after an attack Monday on an ISAF combat outpost.

The report didn't say how many insurgents were killed but noted no non-combatant casualties were reported.

It said Pakistan military fired artillery at the retreating insurgents after they crossed into Pakistan.