PUL-E-KHUMRI, Afghanistan, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Over two dozen militants and security personnel have been killed as clash erupted between the government forces and Taliban in the northern Baghlan province on Monday, provincial police chief Ekramudin Sari said.

"More than two dozen people including seven security personnel have been killed since 02:00 a.m. local time in Baghlan-e-Markazi district of the province," Sari told Xinhua.

However, he counted the Taliban casualties as high as 20, saying "20 armed insurgents have been killed and injured" in the fighting, but couldn't give an exact figure of the dead or injured of the militants.

Baghlan-e-Markazi, 30 km north of provincial capital Pul-e-Khumri, has been the scene of fierce fighting between the government forces and Taliban militants over the past couple of weeks.