MAIMANA, Afghanistan, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Two members of Taliban militant group have been killed and six militants injured following a clash in Faryab province, north of Afghanistan, a local official said Wednesday.

"Unknown number of militants attacked a security checkpoint in Sar-e-Hawz locality, Pashtun Kot district late Tuesday. Security forces fought back the attackers, killing two insurgents' divisional commanders and injuring six others," Hanif Rezai, a press officer of army's 209 Shaheen Corps based in the region, told Xinhua.

He identified the killed militants as Mohammad Khetab and Tofan.

Fighting has escalated in Afghanistan as the Taliban insurgency spreads from its traditional strongholds in the south and east to the once peaceful region in the north, where Taliban have been recruiting from among the youth.

The Taliban insurgent group, which has been waging an insurgency of more than 16 years, has yet to make comments on the report.