KABUL, May 4 (RIA Novosti) - Seventeen Taliban militants have been killed in a two-day military operation in the east of Afghanistan, the local Tolo TV news channel said on Sunday.

Tolo TV reported, citing sources in local law enforcement bodies, that the operation was conducted by troops from the Afghan army and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in the province of Zabul, bordering on Pakistan.

However, a spokesman for the Taliban denied that the hard-line Islamic movement had suffered any losses, saying instead that a family of 15 people, who were not connected with the group, had been killed during the Afghan army and NATO's shelling.

The Taliban, who ruled Afghanistan for five years before being toppled by a U.S.-led force in 2001, have recently pledged to step up suicide attacks in a bid to undermine the Afghan government.

Taliban militants and other Islamic extremists are frequently active in the eastern region of Afghanistan, especially along the border with Pakistan.