At least 22 people were killed in a major battle with hundreds of suspected Taliban fighters armed with rockets and machine-guns who attacked government offices in a southeast Afghan border town, a local official said. Fifteen attackers and seven government soldiers were killed in the fighting which started around midnight Saturday in Barmal town, Paktika province, 220 kilometres south of Kabul, provincial security commander Dawlat Khan said. "Last night around 12:00 midnight some 300-400 Taliban fighters attacked the Barmal district building using rockets and machine-guns," he said. Seven government soldiers, including the district security commander and the district chief's son were killed and one was injured during the fighting which lasted three hours. "The Taliban escaped but soldiers in the district say around 15 Taliban also died in this fighting," he told AFP by telephone. Barmal is 16 kilometres from the rugged mountain border with Pakistan's North Waziristan. Khan said he was in a convoy carrying bodies and the injured to the provincial capital Sharan. He blamed the attack on Taliban who have stepped up attacks across southern and southeastern Afghanistan in recent months. Last month around 1,000 soldiers from the new Afghan National Army backed by US and Italian troops carried out a major anti-Taliban operation in Paktia and Paktika provinces. **Photo caption*** A veil-clad woman government worker repairs a road in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday. Aug. 17, 2003. (AP Photo/Amir Shah)