Jalalabad (Afghanistan), Apr 13 (IANS): Taliban's massive offensive to capture Afghanistan's Shirzad district in the Nangarhar province has been repulsed and the militant group fled away after leaving 27 bodies behind, the provincial government said in a statement on Saturday.

Taliban, according to the government statement, launched multi-pronged offensive with two car bombs followed by gunfight on Friday night to capture Shirzad district, but the security forces' "sharp reaction forced the insurgents to retreat".

More than two dozen militants were injured in the incident, said the statement cited by Xinhua news agency.

Two security personnel were also killed in the fighting and eight others sustained injuries while defending the besieged Shirzad district, added the statement.

The deadly attack came hours after the Taliban announced launching its annual spring offensive aimed at gaining grounds to topple Afghan government.

However, the Afghan Defence Ministry termed Taliban newly launched offensive as mere propaganda to boost morale of its fighters to continue useless insurgency in the conflict-plagued country.