Seventeen Taliban militants have been killed, 10 others have surrendered in two days of counter- insurgency operations, and three employees of the government- backed election commission sustained injuries over the past two days in conflict-ridden Afghanistan, officials said Monday.

"Personnel of national police in conjunction with the national army and the NATO-led troops have killed 17 Taliban rebels during series of operations in Kandahar, Paktika, Paktiya, Farah and Nimroz provinces over the past 24 hours," the Interior Ministry said in a statement released here on Monday.

In a related development, according to government sources, 10 Taliban fighters gave up fighting and resumed normal life in Sarobi district 60 km east of the capital city Kabul over the period.

"A 10-member armed militant group who were active against government in parts of Sarobi district in the past, had laid down arms and joined the peace process," a statement of National Directorate of Security (NDS) or the country's intelligence agency said in a statement released on Monday, a claim rebuffed by Taliban outfit as groundless.

However, a mine planted by anti-government militants, presumably by Taliban militants struck a vehicle of the election commission on Sunday in Ghor province with Cheghcheran as its capital, 360 km west of Kabul, injuring three workers of the election body.

Meanwhile, the Taliban outfit on its website claimed having killed dozens of Afghan security personnel over the past two days throughout the conflict-hit country. It is difficult to verify the claims.

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