15 militants killed, 13 injured in northern Afghan district

Afghan government forces backed by airpower have killed and injured more than two dozen Taliban militants in Baghlan-e-Markazi district of the northern Baghlan province with Pul-e-Khumri as its capital 160 km north of Kabul over the past two days, a local official said Saturday.

"Up to 15 Taliban rebels have been killed and 13 others injured in Baghlan-e-Markazi district since Friday morning," district governor Gohar Khan Babri told Xinhua.

Several villages have also been liberated from Taliban clutches, the official added.

Without commenting on possible casualties of security personnel, the official stressed that the militants have fled away.

The deputy to provincial police chief, Rashid Bashir, has also confirmed the clash in Baghlan-e-Markazi districts of Baghlan province, contending that no security personnel has been hurt over the past 24 hours.

Taliban insurgents have been wiped out from some 10 villages, the official asserted.

The armed Taliban militants haven't commented.

However, locals said that dozens of houses and hundreds of acress of farmlands have been destroyed or badly damaged due to fightings in the area.
Source: XINHUA