Afghan forces backed by NATO's airpower eliminated nine Taliban militants in their birthplace Kandahar province in south Afghanistan Saturday, provincial police chief Sardar Mohammad Zazai said. 'Taliban militants were in meeting in their hideout in Shah Walikot district this morning when international troops acting upon intelligence report pounded their position. As a result, nine rebels were killed,' Zazai told a news conference. Taliban militants have yet to make comment. Kandahar has been the scene of increasing Taliban-linked insurgency over the past couple of years. On Saturday morning, a roadside bomb struck a police van in Khakriz district, killing three policemen and injuring another. Both Taliban and NATO-led troops are muscling in Kandahar since April and showdown is possible within weeks. 