PUL-E-KHUMRI: Five militants have been killed and 13 others injured as clash flared up in the northern Afghanprovince of Baghlan, provincial governor Abdul Satar Bariz said Wednesday.

Two security personnel have also been killed, the official confirmed.

The clash, according to the official, erupted Tuesday afternoon after the armed insurgents attacked security checkpoints.

Government forces, following fierce fighting, captured Dand-e-Shahabudin, a Taliban bastion in the northern Baghlan province in early March.

However, the Taliban fighters returned to the district a week ago and began attacking government interests.

Purported Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the clash in Dand-e-Shahabudin, claiming the militants overran a security forces base there on Tuesday.