File: Afghan Taliban militants

Taliban militants on Wednesday night killed 11 Afghan security forces members in eastern Afghanistan, authorities confirmed this on Thursday.

In Ghazni province, four Afghan National Police (ANP) personnel and two national intelligence officers were killed after Taliban militants stormed three security checkpoints in Khwaja Omari district, district chief Ahmad Zia Yaqoubi told Xinhua.

He said that Four Taliban militants were also killed during the clashes.

In neighboring Logar province, five ANP officers were killed after armed militants attacked their security post near the provincial police station in provincial capital Pul-e-Alam, local TV channel Tolo News reported.

Besides, four civilians were wounded and a sedan and a minibus were destroyed in a bomb attack in Kunduz city, capital of northern Kunduz province earlier on Thursday, a provincial source told Xinhua.

Violence lingers in war-torn Afghanistan as the U.S. and NATO troops have been pulling out of the country.

About 3,500 U.S. forces and 7,000 NATO troops will be withdrawn before Sept. 11, which is the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that drew the United States into the war in Afghanistan. (Xinhua/NAN)