KABUL, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- At least 46 militants were killed amid operations launched by Afghan security forces since early Thursday, the Defense Ministry said on Friday.
"Afghan army, police and intelligence agency personnel carried out several military and cleanup operations over the past 24 hours, killing 46 terrorists and wounding 15 others," the ministry said in a statement.
The raids were conducted in Nangarhar, Kunduz, Kapisa, Khost, Paktia, Takhar and Helmand provinces and the joint forces also found and seized weapons, said the statement that provides daily operational updates.
Among the killed militants were 17 members of Islamic State (IS) group, including a senior commander of IS named Mawlawi Nahim, the statement added.
In addition, 12 fighters of Taliban militant group were captured by Afghan Special Operation Forces in Khost city, capital of eastern Khost province on late Thursday, a provincial source told Xinhua earlier on the day.
The Afghan security forces had beefed up security operations across the country recently.
The Taliban and IS militants, who have been on rampage since the beginning of 2015 when the Afghan security forces assumed the full responsibilities of security from the U.S. and NATO forces, have yet to make comments.