Afghan officials say at least six suspected Taleban militants have been killed and 15 arrested, including one of the militia's commanders, in separate incidents in southern Afghanistan.

The six insurgents were killed Sunday as they fled after attacking a security post close to Tirin Kot, the capital of restive Uruzgan province.

The officials say the Afghan National Army and US-led forces also captured 9 suspected Taleban fighters, including local commander Mullah Janan, in a village near Tirin Kot, and six others were arrested in another district of Uruzgan province.

Meanwhile, in the Souray district of neighboring Zabul province, one suspected Taleban rebel was killed and one was wounded by a bomb they were planting on a road used by Afghan and US forces.

Violence has surged ahead of next month's parliamentary elections in Afghanistan.