TALUQAN, Afghanistan, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Four Afghan army special force members were killed and others wounded in a Taliban militants' ambush attack in northern Takhar province Wednesday, local police said.

"The fighting erupted after militants ambushed a unit of Afghan National Army Special Operations Corps roughly at 2:00 a.m. (local time) Wednesday in Chachak locality, Khwaja Ghar district. Several militants were also killed and wounded during the clashes," Abdul Khalil Asir from provincial police told Xinhua.

The army and police forces arrived and secured the area after the fighting. The bodies and the wounded were shifted to an army camp.

The province has been the scene of heavy clashes and fighting since long. Afghan security forces launched several anti-government operations in Takhar since early this month, destroying several militants' hideouts, fighting positions, attacking tunnels and weapons storage.

Fighting rages across the war-torn country and clashes between security forces and Taliban have been continuing in most of the country's 34 provinces since early April when Taliban insurgents launched a yearly rebel offensive.