8 militants killed, 9 injured in Afghanistan

Eight Taliban militants have been killed and nine others injured in the northern Baghlan province with Pul-e-Khumri as its capital 160 km north of Kabul over the past two days, a senior security official said on Sunday.

"Units of Police backed by the army have killed eight Taliban rebels and injured nine others in Baghlan-e-Markazai district over the past two days and several villages have been liberated from the Taliban clutch," General Assadullah Shirzad told reporters.

He also expressed hope that the last trench and defense line of Taliban militants would be captured by security forces within the next few hours.

The Afghan forces launched massive cleanup operations in Baghlan-e-Markazi district early this month. So far, according to Shirzad, 170 militants have been killed and injured.

Taliban militants launched their so-called spring offensive on April 24 and since then conducted series of attacks mostly in the shape of suicide bombings in different provinces of Afghanistan, which have claimed hundreds of lives, including insurgents, security personnel and civilians.