16 rebels killed in a single day

KABUL): Sixteen militants have been killed during separate operations and clashes in different parts of the country over the past 24 hours, officials and the Ministry of Interior said on Tuesday.

A dozen insurgents were killed in the operations by police, Afghan army and National Directorate of Security (NDS) personnel in Paktia, Zabul, Baghlan, Kunduz and Kabul provinces, a statement from the ministry said.

Five militants were detained, five weapons, 300 cartridges, six shells, 15 bombs, 136 kilograms of explosives, two walkie-talkies and a motorcycle were seized, the statement added.

But Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi claimed the fighters had killed six soldiers and injured four others as a result of a roadside bombing in Paktika. Similarly, casualties were inflicted on police in Zabul.

Another insurgent spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said they had killed three policemen in roadside bomb attack in the Chahar Dara district of Kunduz province. A fourth policeman was injured in armed attack in Qala Zal district of the province.

Separately, four guerrillas were killed and as many policemen, including an officer, rescued from militants in central Maidan Wardak province.

The policemen, kidnapped in Jalrez district four days ago, were released as a result of an operation by the Afghan and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), said the governor’s spokesman, Shahidullah Shahid.

A Taliban commander for the district, Gul Agha, was wounded in the raid in the Hajikhel and Ziawlat areas, he said. “The ongoing operation will be expanded to other areas of the district to flush out militants,” he added.

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