KANDAHAR: Afghan police say they have found the bodies of seven soldiers, believed to have been killed by their Taliban captors in a southern province.

The police say the bodies were found on Wednesday on the outskirts of the provincial capital of southern Zabul province.

Police chief Ghulam Sakhi says the seven Afghan National Army soldiers disappeared while travelling from southern Kandahar province to their homes in neighboring Zabul a week ago.

Afghan forces have taken over the security of the country ahead of the 2014 withdrawal of US and Nato combat troops.

But the transfer has come with a heavy price, especially during the summer's fighting season.

According to Nato officials, Afghan forces were at one point losing 100 men a week, mostly from roadside bombs.