KABUL, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- A total of 17 Taliban militants have been killed after Afghan army waged an operation in the country's northern Kunduz province, the command of special force said Friday.
"The operation was launched by Afghan National Army (ANA) commandos in Archi district on Thursday. The security forces also destroyed militants' three defense positions, one motorcycle, one attack tunnel and some amount of ammunition during the raid," army's Special Operations Corps said in a statement.
The operation aimed at disrupting insurgents' activities in northern provinces and the raids will continue until insurgents renounce violence and join government-initiated peace and reconciliation process, the statement noted.
The Afghan security forces have beefed up security operations against militants recently as the Taliban militants have been attempting to take territory and consolidate their positions in countryside.
Taliban militants, who ruled the country before being ousted in late 2001, renewed armed insurgency, killing government troops as well as civilians.
The militants, controlling parts of the province, have not made comments on the report yet.
