Fighting kills more than a dozen militants in Afghanistan

KABUL, March 25 (Xinhua) -- More than a dozen militants have been confirmed dead as government forces increased pressure on the armed opposition groups in AFGHANISTAN, officials said Monday.

In the latest crackdown on militants, government forces' fighting aircraft pounded a Taliban hideout in Sangin district of the southern Helmand province on Monday, killing six militants including senior commander Jihadyar, said an army statement.

Commander Jihadyar, according to the statement, had served as shadow spy chief of the Taliban outfit and his physical elimination could prove a major blow to the militants operating in the restive Helmand province.

Similarly, clashes between government forces and Taliban fighters on a road linking the southern Uruzgan province to Kandahar on Sunday night left eight militants dead and six others injured, a local official said.

The official on the condition of anonymity also confirmed that five security personnel were injured in the fighting which lasted for a few hours.

In the crackdowns against the armed opposition groups, the government forces stormed an hideout of Islamic State (IS) group by using an unmanned plane in Achin district of the eastern Nangarhar province on Sunday afternoon.

The operation killed three militants including the group commander, Aslam Farooqi, on the spot and destroyed their hideout, said an army statement released on Monday.

The government forces, according to the statement, would continue to target the armed militants elsewhere in the country.

Neither Taliban outfit nor IS group has made comment.