Afghan army kills seven militants in clashes

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan soldiers killed seven militants in the northeastern province of Nuristan in clashes close to where nine U.S. soldiers were killed a day before, the Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

Taliban militants attacked a U.S. outpost near the Pakistan border on Sunday, briefly breaching the defenses and killing nine U.S. soldiers, the biggest single American loss of life in Afghanistan since 2005.

Scores of Taliban militants were killed or wounded in the attack, NATO said.

On Monday, Afghan troops launched a "search and clean-up" operation in the Wanat district of Nuristan province.

"Seven militants who had infiltrated the area in an attempt to destabilize security were killed," the Defence Ministry said. Several others were wounded.

"The enemy was unable to recover the bodies of the dead and all the dead bodies remain on the battlefield," it said.

(Writing by Jonathon Burch; Editing by Elizabeth Piper)