Kabul, July 26 (DPA) Two Afghan army soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb attack in eastern Afghanistan, while Afghan troops backed by international forces killed 16 insurgents in the same region, officials said Sunday.

The Afghan soldiers were blown up in their vehicle as they were travelling in Barmel district of south-eastern Paktika province Saturday, the defence ministry said in a statement.

Three other soldiers were wounded in the blast and were immediately evacuated to an army hospital, where their condition was reported to be stable, it said.

Meanwhile, Taliban militants fired several rockets at an Afghan army base in Barg-e-Matal district of eastern Nuristan province Saturday, causing no casualties among the troops, a separate army statement said.

The soldiers with support from the international forces pounded the insurgents' positions with heavy artillery fire, killing 16 of them and wounding several others, it said.