A total of 16 Taliban militants have been killed in operations carried out by the Afghan police and army backed by the NATO-led coalition forces in the past 24 hours, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday.
“Also a total of 24 suspected armed Taliban were detained during the above raids launched in Faryab, Zabul, Wardak, Logar, Ghazni, Paktiya and Helmand provinces,” the ministry said in a statement.
The statement did not disclose if there were any casualties on the side of security forces.
Meanwhile, a senior intelligence official in eastern Ghazni province said that 14 militants were killed in a search operation overnight in the province.
“Getting a tip, the personnel of NDS (National Security Directorate) or intelligence agency, supported by the army and coalition forces, carried out the search operation in Hidar Qala area of Qara Bagh district, killing 14 militants, including a key Taliban commander named Mullah Zakir Kochi,” a senior NDS official, Sadat, told Xinhua.
Most of the dead militants were foreign nationals, Sadat said, without providing more details.
