Clean up operations and gun fires conducted by Afghan and US troops in the troubled southern provinces of Afghanistan late in the weekend led to the elimination of 21 suspected Taliban insurgents including their commander and detaining five others, a defense ministry statement received Tuesday said.

"Personnel of Afghan National army (ANA) in a mop up launched in Khawja Baghzari district of Zabul province, took the lives of 16 Taliban militias including commander Mullah Nasirullah," it said.

Five more Taliban operatives were killed in Deh Rawad district of the neighboring Uruzgan province when they came in contact with the US and Afghan troops on the same day at 9:20 a.m.

"Five more insurgents were captured from Wazokhaw district of Paktika province on Sunday and a quantity of arms and ammunitions including three kalashnikovs were also recovered from their possession," the statement asserted.

Zabul, Uruzgan, Paktika and the neighboring provinces of Kandahar, Helmand, Khost and Paktia, the former bases of Taliban, have been the scene of increasing hit-and-run attacks since early this year during which over 500 including rebels, Afghan and US troops as well pro-government figures had been killed.

Source: Xinhua