GARDEZ, Afghanistan, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Up to four Afghan police officers were killed and four others wounded after Taliban militants stormed a security checkpoint in eastern province of Paktia overnight, local police said Monday.

"The clashes occurred after militants attacked Saifullah Checkpoint in Dand Wa Patan district. The wounded police officers were shifted to hospital at wee hours of Monday," provincial police spokesman Sardar Wali Tabasom told Xinhua.

The remote district is located in northeast side of the province, near the border with Pakistan.

The Taliban militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

In a separate incident, two police officers were wounded on Sunday night, following an encounter between Taliban and police on outskirts of provincial capital Gardez city, 100 km south of the country's capital Kabul.

The spokesman added that two Taliban militants were also killed during the clashes.

Fighting rages across the war-torn country and clashes between security forces and Taliban have been continuing in more than 20 out of the country's 34 provinces since early April when Taliban launched a yearly rebel offensive.

Fighting between government forces and Taliban fighters often gets intense in spring and summer as the seasons are locally branded as the fighting time of year. Enditem

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