KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Coalition airstrikes killed 22 militants who were attacking two towns in eastern Afghanistan, and explosions killed two more foreign soldiers in the south, officials said Wednesday.

Fighting between Taliban-led militants and security forces is surging, clouding hopes that the six-year, multibillion-dollar effort to stabilize the country will succeed any time soon.

The U.S.-led coalition said Afghan police called for help when insurgents armed with rockets and guns attacked government offices in the Sarobi and Gomal districts of Paktika province on Tuesday night.

“When coalition air support arrived, the 22 militants who attacked the district centers were positively identified and killed,” a coalition statement said.

Ghamai Khan Mohammadyar, spokesman for the provincial governor, said police had counted the bodies of 22 “enemy fighters” on the battlefield. He said no Afghan forces were killed and claimed that the surviving militants had fled toward the Pakistani border.