Kabul - Almost a dozen Taliban militants were killed in a fight with US-led coalition forces in south-eastern Paktika province, the US military claimed Friday.

In a bid to disrupt militant activities, the combined forces searched compounds in Bermel district of the province on Thursday, the statement said.

The militants inside the compounds engaged the forces during their search, the statement said, adding, "The forces responded with small-arms fire, killing the militants."

The district is close to border with Pakistan, and the targeted militant was responsible for the movement of foreign fighters from Pakistan into Afghanistan, it said.

The latest Taliban casualties come a day after the US military claimed their forces killed more than 100 insurgents in a four-day-operation in the volatile southern province of Helmand.

Nearly seven years after the ouster of the Taliban regime in a US-led invasion, the militants are still a force to be reckoned with.

Recently the militants have advanced towards the capital and staged attacks in and around Kabul. Southern and eastern regions are main hotbeds for the Taliban-led insurgents.

More than 3,500 people - mostly insurgents - have been killed in violence in Afghanistan so far this year, according to figures provided by Afghan and foreign military sources. (dpa)