Checkpoint skirmish kills 18 in Afghanistan

About 11 pro- government tribesmen and seven militants were killed in exchange of fire Wednesday night, when the Taliban launched an attack on a security checkpoint in the eastern Afghan province of Ghazni, sources said on Thursday.
An unknown number of militants raided the checkpoint in Gardizi area, Andar district, overnight, resulting in a fierce fighting for hours, provincial government spokesman Shafiq Nang told Xinhua.
"The battle caused 11 pro-government tribesmen, also called uprising fighters, and seven militants killed," the official said, adding six tribesmen and four militants were injured in the attack.
The Taliban has been waging an insurgency since its regime was toppled by a U.S-led invasion in late 2001.
The militant group has intensified an offensive with a string of bombings and attacks over the past couple of months as the Afghan National Security Forces assumed the full security responsibility from NATO-led troops after a four-year security transition process ended on Dec. 31.