12 insurgents killed in operations in Afghanistan

Kabul, July 24 (Xinhua-ANI): A total of 12 Taliban insurgents have been killed in cleanup operations carried out by the Afghan police, army and the NATO-led coalition forces within the past 24 hours, the Afghan Interior Ministry said on Tuesday morning.

"The joint forces conducted five cleanup operations in Kabul, Baghlan, Kunduz, Zabul and Paktika provinces over the past 24 hours and five other armed Taliban insurgents had been captured by the forces," the ministry said in a statement providing daily operational updates to media.

They also found weapons and ammunition besides defusing 17 roadside bombs or Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), the statement said, without saying if there were any casualties on the side of security forces.

The Taliban insurgent group, which announced the launching of an annual spring offensive from May 3 against Afghan and NATO forces, has not to make comments yet.

Afghan forces and some 130,000 NATO-led coalition troops have intensified cleanup operations against insurgents recently. Records kept by Xinhua, based on figures released by the Interior Ministry, reveal that around 1,700 insurgents have been killed over 1,900 others detained so far in 2012.

However, the insurgents in retaliation responded by carrying out suicide attacks and roadside bombings especially in southern and eastern parts of the country.

Taliban killed five civilians working in a joint Afghan-NATO military camp as daily wagers in eastern Wardak province on Sunday. (Xinhua-ANI)