A dozen Taliban insurgents were killed as they came in contact with Afghan police in southern Afghan province of Uruzgan, provincial police chief Juma Gul Humat said Monday. "The clash, during which 12 rebels were killed, took place Sunday in Chora district when police backed by the international troops launched a clean-up operation against militants in that area," Humat told Xinhua.

Three policemen were wounded in the operation which is still going on, he added.

Taliban have not made comment so far.

More than 8,000 people had been killed in violent incidents in Afghanistan in 2007 while over 250 have lost their lives in conflicts and militancy so far this year in the war-battered country.

(Xinhua News Agency March 24, 2008)