At least 30 Afghan police personnel have been killed since heavy clashes broke out between Taliban militants and security forces in Jalrez district of eastern Wardak province, local media reported on Friday.

"The clashes erupted on early hours of Thursday. The Taliban militants have taken over control of 12 security checkpoints along main road connecting district headquarters to provincial capital Maidan Shar," Tolo News quoted the provincial council chief as saying.

Sporadic clashes are still going on in the province, 34 km west of Afghan capital, according to the report.

"Up to 30 Afghan Local Police (ALP) personnel have been killed and several others wounded following the clashes," the official said.

The government established the ALP, or community police, in 2010 to protect villages and districts around the country where army and police have limited presence.

"The main road to Jalrez district center has been closed since early Thursday. Reinforcement army soldiers have been deployed by helicopters to the district center earlier on Friday to avoid militants' advancement there," the source added in the report.

Without providing details, the official said several civilians had also been killed while many armed militants also lost their lives during the latest fighting.

Furthermore, earlier on Friday, security forces made advancement following an operation to retake a district from Taliban in northern Kunduz province, said a local official.

"The security forces have retaken the control of Dasht-e-Archi police headquarters Friday morning. They are advancing towards the district center where government office buildings are located from two sides. The district will be cleared of militants within hours. And the operation will continue until the area is cleared of militants," the district governor Nasroddin Sahadi told Xinhua.

On June 22, the militants took full control of Dasht-e-Archi, in the province with Kunduz city as its capital, 250 km north of Kabul after security forces conducted a technical retreat to avoid civilian casualties there.

The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since April 24 when the militant group launched its so-called annual spring offensive in different places of the militancy-plagued Afghanistan, which had claimed hundreds of lives including militants, security personnel and civilians.

The Afghan soldiers and police casualties have risen recently as the United States and NATO troops in Afghanistan have switched from combat to support role, namely training, advising and assisting Afghan forces since Jan. 1 this year.

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