5 militants killed, 7 injured in eastern Afghan provinces

JALALABAD, Afghanistan, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Five Taliban militants were killed and seven others wounded in clashes in two eastern Afghan provinces on Monday as fighting rages in the country, authorities said Tuesday.

In one incident, three militants were killed, two others wounded and a Taliban divisional commander named Attah Ullah was arrested after clashes erupted in Khogyani district of Nangarhar province.

"The militants tried to attack army security checkpoints in Khogyani. But troops of army Corps 201 Selab, who were aware of the attack, responded to the attackers, killing three," the army corps based in the region said in a statement.

In neighboring Laghman province, two militants named Massi Ullah and Malang were killed and five militants were wounded during an ongoing military operation in Alingar district, the statement added.

The army personnel also destroyed three militants' motorcycles, seized two motorcycles, an amount of weapons and ammunition as well as a telecommunication radio after the clashes.

The corps engineering teams also defused four improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in eastern region since early Monday, according to the statement.

Afghan troops intensified their offensive against the Taliban and other insurgent groups as the Taliban militants have been attempting to take territory and consolidate their positions during the winter in the mountainous country.

The militants responded by arm attacks and bombings.

On Monday, three police officers, including a district police chief, were killed and three policemen were injured in two IED explosions in eastern Logar and northern Baghlan provinces.