Over 60 including 14 security personnel killed in Afghan clashes

KABUL, April 1 (Xinhua) -- More than 60 fighters including 14 security personnel have been killed in the insurgency-battered Afghanistan over the past 24 hours, officials said Monday.

The government forces, in crackdown against militants, stormed Taliban positions from ground and air in Khashrod district of the western Nimroz province on Monday, killing 22 insurgents and injuring 10 others, said an army statement.

Similarly, the government forces in overnight operations against Taliban fighters in Shoraki area of Gereshk district in the southern Helmand province killed seven militants including some suicide bombers, provincial government spokesman Omar Zawak said Monday.

Ten militants including a Taliban commander, Mullah Manan, have been killed as government forces stormed Taliban positions in the northern Baghlan province on Sunday, army spokesman in the northern region Mohammed Hanif Rezai said Monday.

Taliban militants stormed security checkpoints in Akazai area of Bala Murghab in the western Badghis province on Sunday, killing 14 security personnel and injuring 15 others, a member of provincial council, Nasir Khan said Monday.

Meanwhile, Jamshid Shahabi, the spokesman for Badghis provincial government, has confirmed fighting in Bala Murghab district, and claimed 10 militants had been killed and injured.

Taliban outfit has also confirmed fighting in Bala Murghab district and killing over a dozen army soldiers since Sunday.

Afghan fighting usually gets momentum with the herald of spring commonly known as fighting season in Afghanistan.