Story highlights Nine soldiers are missing

At least one militant died in the attack

Militants attacked an Afghan National Army outpost in eastern Afghanistan early Sunday morning, killing at least 19 soldiers, officials said.

Nine other soldiers are still missing from the attack in Kunar province, said Abdul Ghani Mutamim, the spokesman for the province's governor.

"We don't know whether the other nine ANA (Afghan National Army soldiers) are also killed or insurgents took them alive," he said.

The body of one militant was found in the area, but Mutamim didn't know how many others were killed or wounded.

Kunar is a key transit route for militants from Pakistan. But it's also been the scene of some of the fiercest fighting for U.S. troops in the Afghan war.