QALA-E-NAW, Afghanistan, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- At least four personnel of Border Police Force and five militants were killed as clash erupted between security forces and the Taliban fighters in Afghanistan's western Badghis province on Sunday, provincial governor spokesman Jamshid Shahabi said on Monday.

According to the official, the clash erupted after Taliban militants ambushed a convoy of border police in Laman township, near Qala-e-Naw, the Badghis provincial capital Sunday afternoon, triggering a gun battle which lasted for a while and left four police personnel and five insurgents dead.

The official said that five more militants and two security personnel sustained injuries in the fighting.

Laman, 35 km southwest of the provincial capital, has turned insecure, after militants affiliated with the Taliban outfit widened activities over the past couple of months.

Taliban insurgents are yet to comment on the report.