ASADABAD, Afghanistan, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- About 19 Afghan army soldiers were killed when Taliban militants launched an attack on an army checkpoint in eastern province of Kunar overnight, sources said on Sunday. "The militants raided an army security outpost at around midnight, leaving 19 soldiers killed and two others wounded," the provincial government spokesman Abdul Ghani Ghani told Xinhua, adding seven soldiers were kidnapped following the attack by the militants.

Several militants were killed and wounded as a result of the exchange of fire in the province, 180 km east of the national capital Kabul, the spokesman said without giving an exact number.

The army had sent enforcement troops to the area and a search operation was launched to locate and rescue the kidnapped army personnel, the source noted.

The mountainous province bordering Pakistan is a known Taliban hotbed.

The Taliban insurgent group has intensified attacks recently as the Afghan army and police took the full operational lead from foreign troops last year.

The war-torn country is due to take over the responsibility for its own security from foreign troops by the end of the year.

More than 57,000 NATO-led foreign troops, down from the peak of 130,000 in 2010, are currently being deployed in Afghanistan.