MAHMUD-E-RAQI, Afghanistan, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Nine pro-government local militiamen were killed in a militants' overnight attack in Afghanistan's eastern Kapisa province as fighting rages in the country, a local official said Tuesday.

"The deaths occurred after Taliban militants armed with light and heavy weapons stormed a security post of pro-government tribal militias, known as local uprising fighters in Afghanya village of Nijrab district late Monday night," Qais Qaderi, provincial government spokesman, told Xinhua.

Local uprising fighters, who are receiving support from Afghan security agencies, provide security and protect remote villages and districts around the country where army and police have limited presence.

"Afghan security force members rushed to the site after the attack but all members of the militia group manning the post were killed by an explosion caused by a Taliban bomb planted outside the security post and the clashes lasted for hours," Qaderi said.

Several militants were also killed and wounded during the gun battle, but their number could not be exactly specified as the militants evacuated their casualties after the fighting in Nijrab, in the northern part of the province, 65 km north of the country's capital, Kabul.

Taliban militants, who ruled the country before being ousted in late 2001, renewed armed insurgency, killing government troops as well as civilians.

They frequently attack district offices, military camps, installations and security checkpoints, while the Afghan military respond with airstrikes on militant targets in the countryside. Enditem

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