At least 30 Afghan security guards have been killed in a clash with Taliban fighters and another 15 have been wounded.

Afghan police sources said the clashes took place in Helmand's volatile Sangin district.

The fighting, which lasted the whole day, claimed the lives of 30 guards, around 15 were injured and some others were taken by the Taliban, the

sources added.

Helmand, along with neighbouring Kandahar, are one of the most unstable regions of Afghanistan, where Taliban-linked insurgents have been fighting the Kabul government and international forces for almost nine years.

The United States and NATO have 141,000 troops in the country trying to quell the intensifying war, with many new deployments heading south.