KABUL, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Some 11 insurgents were killed after Afghan troops launched separate operations in nine of the country's 34 provinces, the Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
"During the past 24 hours, Afghan National Defense and Security Forces conducted joint offensive operations in order to protect lives and properties of people also defeating the insurgents in different parts of the country. As a result, 11 insurgents including a Taliban's local commander were killed," the ministry said in a statement.
In one operation, eight Taliban insurgents were killed and a vehicle and a heavy machine gun were destroyed after the joint forces raided a Taliban hideout in Garmser district of southern Helmand province.
In addition, three militants, including a local Taliban leader named Rahim Gul were killed by the joint forces in Srobi district, some 50 km east of national capital of Kabul, according to the statement.
The troops also seized weapons and defused several roadside bombs and landmines planted by the militants, the statement said, without elaborating the casualties of the security forces.
The Afghan security forces had beefed up security operations recently as militants were attempting to take territory and consolidate their positions during the winter in the mountainous country.
Taliban militants, who have been on rampage since early 2015 when the Afghan security forces assumed the full responsibility of security from the U.S. and NATO forces, have yet to make comments.
