Eight killed in security clash in Afghanistan

At least eight militants were killed and 11 others injured in a military operation in eastern Afghanistan, authorities said Tuesday.

"Afghan security forces conducted a night operation and battled the militants in Chak district in eastern Afghan province of Wardak killing eight militants, including five Pakistani militants," Xinhua quoted a provincial government statement as saying.

The foreign militants came from the Maidan Shar province, 35 km west of Kabul, the statement said.

Three Afghan Taliban local leaders named Mullah Hahad, Mullah Hamdullah and Mullah Muhib were among the dead, the statement added.

Afghanistan's security forces took the full operational lead from foreign troops in mid-last year.

Nearly 50,000 NATO-led coalition troops, down from the peak of 130,000 in 2010, are stationed in Afghanistan, and the US plans to trim its forces to less than 10,000 next year.