Four Taliban fighters have struck a NATO post in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, destroying dozens of fuel tankers and resulting in a gun battle with police, Afghan officials say.

The attack took place on Thursday in the parking compound of a NATO base near the Torkham crossing on the Pakistani border, near the Khyber Pass and a main supply route for NATO-led forces in land-locked Afghanistan.

Fighters on both sides of the border have for years been attacking supplies bound for NATO-led forces in Afghanistan.

Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, a spokesman for Nangarhar's governor, told Reuters news agency one attacker blew himself up while police killed the other three.

He said 37 lorries containing petrol and other supplies were destroyed in explosions set off by the attackers.

One Afghan driver was injured, a witness told Reuters.

Zabiullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesman, confirmed that the group's fighters, who say they are seeking to expel foreign forces and bring down the Kabul government, were behind the attack.

Taliban fighters killed scores of people in attacks on Saturday on a second-round, run-off presidential election.

Afghanistan's allies hope the election can usher in a strong, stable government but accusations of cheating have raised fears of a deadlock between the two rival candidates, both of whom support a security pact with the US.

The Taliban has dismissed the vote as a US ploy.