Taliban militants kill 14 pro-government militia in Afghanistan

Taliban militants killed at least 14 members of a pro-government militia in Afghanistan on Wednesday, said officials, as Taliban and U.S. officials near a deal aimed at ending the 18-year war.

Government officials said 14 members of the militia were killed and several civilians were wounded during clashes in the western province of Herat.

Police chief spokesman Abdul Ahid Walizada said on Wednesday that seven others were wounded in the Tuesday night attack in Robat Sangi district. He said an unspecified number of Taliban fighters stormed security checkpoints in the Chahardara area.

“At least nine others are wounded in the clashes and the Taliban militants were pushed back after Afghan forces reinforced the area,” said Walizada.

U.S. and Taliban officials are said to be nearing an agreement, after months of negotiations, under which the United States would start to withdraw troops from Afghanistan in exchange for Taliban pledges not to allow the country to harbor other Islamic extremist groups.

Separately, in eastern Nangarhar province, governor's spokesman Attaullah Khogynai said a university professor was killed and two others wounded on Tuesday when a bomb attached to their vehicle detonated in Jalalabad, the provincial capital.

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack in Herat but no one has claimed responsibility for the attack in Nangarhar, where both the Taliban and the local affiliate of the Islamic State group are active.