15 militants killed in Afghanistan

KABUL - Fifteen Taliban militants and two policemen were killed in fighting in southern Afghanistan, officials said Sunday.

The fighting took place Saturday in the Nahr-e-Saraj district in Helmand province where the Afghan Police and the US-led security forces launched a joint operation against the militants, the interior ministry said in a statement.

Officials said five policemen and five militants were also injured in the fighting.

In a separate incident, the police shot dead a suspected suicide bomber when he tried to enter a security outpost in the Kandhar province, the statement added.