Kabul: An Afghan official says Taliban insurgents have stormed a checkpoint in western Herat province, killing 14 pro-government militia members.

Police chief spokesman Abdul Ahid Walizada said on Wednesday that seven others were wounded in the Tuesday night attack in Robat Sangi district. He said an unspecified number of Taliban fighters suffered casualties.

Separately, in eastern Nangarhar province, governor's spokesman Attaullah Khogynai said a university professor was killed and two others wounded on Tuesday when a bomb attached to their vehicle detonated in Jalalabad, the provincial capital.

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack in Herat but no one has claimed responsibility for the attack in Nangarhar, where both the Taliban and the local affiliate of the Islamic State group are active.

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Colombo (AP): A top Sri Lankan official says 32 people have been rescued from a sinking Iranian naval ship off Sri Lanka's southern coast and have been admitted to a hospital.

Dr Anil Jasinghe, a top health ministry official, says one of them is in critical condition, seven are receiving emergency treatment, and others are treated for minor injuries.

Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath told Parliament that Sri Lanka's navy received information that the ship Iris Dena with 180 on board was in distress, and that the island nation sent ships and air force planes on a rescue mission.

There were no immediate details as to how the sailors were wounded and how the ship was damaged.