Afghan forces kill more than 80 Taliban in 24 hours
Iran Press TV
Wed Jun 17, 2015 3:19PM
Afghan security forces have killed over 80 Taliban militants and injured more than 100 others during a series of operations across Afghanistan over the past 24 hours, the country's Defense Ministry says.
The Afghan Defense Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that at least 83 militants were killed and 116 others wounded in large-scale security operations across Kapisa, Paktika, Khost, Uruzgan, Daikundi, Kandahar, Badakhshan and Sar-i-Pul Provinces.
Afghan security forces also seized a large amount of arms and ammunition belonging to the militants, it added.
The statement also said that at least seven Afghan soldiers lost their lives in a landmine explosion and militant attacks over the past hours.
This comes as Afghan forces have stepped up operations against Taliban hideouts across the war-ravaged country in recent months.
In a separate development, hundreds of Taliban militants launched on Wednesday a series of coordinated attacks on a number of security checkpoints in the Marwara district of the troubled eastern Kunar Province.
Provincial police chief Abdul Habib Syed Khel said the security forces made tactical retreat from a number of checkpoints following the attacks.
The region's police chief added that additional forces have been sent in order to drive the militants out of the region.
There has been a major surge in attacks in Afghanistan in recent weeks as the Taliban militants have vowed to target Afghan and foreign forces as part of the militants' so-called spring offensive.
Afghanistan is grappling with insecurity more than 13 years after US and its NATO allies invaded the country in 2001 as part of Washington's so-called war on terror.
JR/HJL/GHN
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