Afghan National Army (ANA) and police forces launched a joint operation Friday targeting Taliban rebels in southern Afghan province of Eland killing at least 17 rebels, said an official on Saturday.
Mohammad Hussein Andiwal, the provincial police chief told Xinhua that the clean-up operation was launched early Friday morning in Nad Ali district of Helmand where the joint forces engaged with a group of Taliban militants and killed at least 17 of them.
"Fire fight last for around three hours during which only one ANA soldier got injured," Andiwal said.
However, Qari Yusuf Ahmadi, the purported Taliban spokesman confirmed with Xinhua via phone from an unknown hideout that the outfits engaging with a large number of Afghan army and police Friday have inflicted great casualties on the combined forces, but he failed to give the casualty number on Taliban side.
Taliban insurgents who staged a violent comeback three years ago have intensified their activities across Afghanistan over the past weeks to mount pressure on the government despite around 70,000 foreign troops stationed in the war-torn country vowing to keep peace and help reconstruction.
Conflicts and spiraling insurgency have claimed over 3,000 people's lives so far this year.
Source: Xinhua
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