The Taliban have killed at least 14 members of a pro-government militia in an attack on checkpoints in the western Ghor province, according to an Afghan official.
Abdul Hai Khateby, the spokesman for the provincial governor, says that seven other militiamen were injured in the attack on Friday, with two of them in bad conditions.
Khateby says that reinforcements further pushed the Taliban back and inflicted casualties, without giving exact figures.
The Taliban, who well control about half of the country, carry out daily attacks on Afghan security forces and government targets. The United States has held several rounds of talks with the insurgents in recent months aimed at ending the nearly 18-year war.