Clash between Taliban militants and security forces in Faryab province with Maimana as its capital 425 km northwest of Kabul left three militants dead and seven others injured, including three civilians, a local official said Sunday.

"A group of armed Taliban rebels raided some security

checkpoints in Qaisar district late Saturday and security forces retaliated, killing three rebels and injuring two others," a security official in the province, Mohammad Reza Rezai told Xinhua.

Three civilians and two security personnel have also sustained injuries in the clash, he added.

Taliban militants confirmed the clash and in a statement posted on its website. The armed outfit claimed that five security personnel had been killed, a claim rejected by Rezai as baseless.