At least 5 Taliban members killed in blast in southeastern Afghan Paktia province - Police

According to a provincial police chief, the explosion took place while the militants were transferring landmines from the Bar Ghoreza area to the city of Gardez.

A security source told Sputnik on the condition of anonymity that in a separate incident last night, a checkpoint in the southern city of Tirin Kot, the capital of the Uruzgan province, was attacked by Taliban militants. The attack left a deputy commander of battalion killed and six policemen wounded.

Taliban militants have not yet commented on the incidents.

The movement said in a statement that Majid Khan, a tribal leader from the Zabul province, has cut ties with the government and joined Taliban. However, Gul Islam Sial, the spokesman for the provincial governor, said that Khan did not have a government job, and was just a tribal elder who moved from the city to the village of Khawazo, which was under Taliban's control.

Meanwhile, Farid Dehqan, a spokesman for the Kunar police headquarters, told Sputnik that a special unit launched a night operation in the Sarkani district of the Kunar Province and detained four members of the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia).