Taliban militants killed 20 Afghan soldiers early on Sunday as they stormed an army outpost in the eastern Kunar province bordering Pakistan.

Seven other soldiers were kidnapped, provincial governor Shujah-Ul Mulk Jalala told Agence France-Presse.

The attack occurred in the Ghaziabad district, a remote, mountainous area of Kunar.

A spokesman for the provincial governor, Abdul Ghani Musamem, said Afghan forces had launched an operation to try to free the soldiers captured by the Taliban.

The Afghan Defense Ministry confirmed in a statement there was a Taliban attack on army checkpoints in that area but declined to give any immediate figures on casualties, according to AFP.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement provided to media organizations.

(Al Arabiya with AFP and Reuters)