Afghan forces have recaptured a northern district bordering Tajikistan from the Taliban, two months after it was seized by the militants.

A statement from the Interior Ministry on January 10 said Afghan army, police, and special forces units launched a major offensive on January 8 to recapture the Darqad district in the northern province of Takhar.

Afghan forces defeated the Taliban after two days of intense fighting that left many militants dead or wounded, the statement said.

"The district has been entirely captured by the Afghan forces, the enemy, suffering heavy casualties, have been defeated," it said.

Some 20 militants and one Afghan soldier were killed in the two days of fighting, the statement added.

The Taliban's capture of Darqad had stoked fears that militant violence could spill over to the Central Asian states.

Based on reporting by AFP and AP