Afghan government troops killed 31 insurgents in weekend fighting near the border with Pakistan, the defence ministry said today.
Twenty-eight militants were killed last night after they attacked an army position in the Angor Ada area of Paktika province, a spokesman said.
He said eight government troops were wounded in more than four hours of fighting in which both sides used heavy machine guns and rockets.
Three more militants were killed early yesterday in a separate clash in Paktika province, he added.
He said it was unclear if the militants killed were Taliban fighters or their al-Qaeda allies known to be active in the border area.
The US military said its forces were not involved; Taliban officials could not be reached for comment.
The violence is likely to be the worst since last month's parliamentary polls and comes as Nato members have tried to resolve differences over the role of their forces in Afghanistan.
Nato's plans to expand into the troubled south will be discussed when Nato secretary-general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer visits Kabul tomorrow.
The United States, which has about two-thirds of the foreign troops in Afghanistan, is looking to cut its commitment given pressures in Iraq and has been trying to get European allies to take on more of the burden of battling the stubborn insurgency.