At least 35 construction workers have been killed and 20 others wounded when Taliban insurgents ambushed their convoy in eastern Afghanistan in the latest attack by the al-Qaeda-linked bandits.

The attack, which occurred in a mountainous district on the highway linking Paktia and Khost provinces, came after the Taliban recently declared the start of a "spring offensive".

Reports reaching the Paktia provincial government also showed that eight Taliban guerillas were killed with guards engaged the insurgents in a firefight.

Paktia provincial spokesman Rohullah Samoon told the AFP, "A large group of Taliban attacked a road construction company in Paktia province. The fighting between the company guards and Taliban attackers continued for two hours."

Reports indicate that the Taliban launched the attack at around 0200 local time (2130 GMT) at a roadside camp next to the highway the construction crew were trying to build.

Noorullah Bidar, head of Galaxy Star, the construction company contracted to finish the road, said some 100 Taliban fighters attacked their site.

Bidar said, "They [the Taliban] destroyed a lot of our equipment including vehicles and equipment used for road construction. We don't know why they attacked us... they are doing this to prevent reconstruction in Afghanistan."

Taliban guerillas regularly attack road workers. Last December, the group kidnapped four Turkish road workers and their local driver in Paktia.