Remnant Taleban fighters raided a military post on south-eastern Afghanistan's border with Pakistan early Monday, officials said.
Several people were killed in the gunfight in Gurbuz district of Khost province, 150 kilometres (95 miles) south-east of Kabul, but there were conflicting accounts as to whose side the casualties were on.
Afghan officials said their forces killed dozens of Taleban and lost none of their own.
"Four Afghan soldiers were injured and dozens of Taleban were killed when early this morning Taleban attacked a military post south of Khost city," provincial military commander Khial Baz Khan told AFP by phone.
Interior ministry spokesman Lutfullah Mashal put the death toll of militants at "dozens" with only four Afghan soldiers wounded.
"Only four soldiers were injured and tens of enemies were killed," Mashal told AFP.
The Taleban however claimed to have killed five soldiers and lost none of their own.
"The 140-man-strong Taleban group attacked the Zawara post and in the result of one hour of fighting five soldiers were killed and two Taleban were slightly injured," said Mullah Abdul Samad, who claims to be a spokesman for the ousted militia.
He told AFP the Taleban fighters captured the post but retreated when US helicopters arrived.
A foreign "enemy element" was also arrested, officials said.
"We have arrested one black-skinned foreign national as well who pretends to be mute. We don't know yet if he is Arab or Pakistani but he is definitely a foreign fighter," Khan said.
Gurbuz district, a pocket of militant activity, is located some 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Khost city, a major base for some of the 20,000-strong US-led coalition forces hunting insurgents.
In a separate attack, in the troubled southern province of Kandahar unknown assailants threw grenades at the office of a demining group, Jandal Abdul Wasay, provincial military spokesman for southern Afghanistan told AFP.
"There were no casualties, just some minor to damage to the wall of the office," he added.
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