Over 50 Taliban militants killed as gov't forces intensify operations in Afghanistan

KABUL, March 5 (Xinhua) -- More than 50 militants have been killed in conflict-battered Afghanistan over the past 24 hours as the government forces have increased crackdowns on Taliban fighters, officials said Tuesday.

At least 16 militants were reportedly killed and 27 others injured after aircraft targeted Taliban positions in Qaisar, Dawlat Abad and Pashtun Kot districts of the northern Faryab province since Monday afternoon, army spokesman in the northern region Mohammad Hanif Rezai said.

The government forces have also attacked Taliban bastion in Qargan area of Imam Sahib district in the northern Kunduz province since Monday evening, killing 16 armed insurgents and wounding 10 others, army spokesman in the troubled province Ghulam Hazrat Karimi told reporters on Tuesday.

The airstrikes also killed a Taliban commander named Kakar in Andar district of the eastern Ghazni province on Tuesday morning, provincial government spokesman Aref Nuri said.

According to security officials, more than 20 militants including two Taliban commanders Mawlawi Zarif and Mawlawi Noorudin have been killed and 16 others injured in Faizabad district of the northern Jawzjan province over the past 24 hours.

Although there is no report on the casualties of security personnel, an army spokesman in the northern region Rezai has confirmed that "unfortunately some security personnel have been martyred and injured in the war against enemies" over the period.