Afghan, US forces kill over 80 Taliban insurgents

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) - Over 80 Taliban insurgents were killed in air operations by Afghan and U.S. forces in the Kandahar and Faryab provinces alone over the past 24 hours, officials confirmed on Sunday.

According to Abdul Kareem, the police chief in the northern Faryab province, a Taliban group staged assaults on security checkpoints in the Pashtunkot district last night and were met with air raids by the Afghan Air Force. He told Anadolu Agency that at least 53 Taliban insurgents were killed and 11 wounded.

In the southern Kandahar province, U.S. forces conducted air raids in the restive Maruf and Shah Wali Kot districts, killing 33 Taliban insurgents and injuring eight others, a statement by the provincial police headquarters said.

These two districts are known as pockets of Taliban influence.

Meanwhile, the Taliban claimed to have hit a convoy of U.S. forces in Kandahar in an improvised explosive device attack. Qari Yosuf, the group’s spokesman, said an armored vehicle was completely destroyed and all on board were killed. The U.S. Forces in Afghanistan have not confirmed the incident.

Afghanistan is witnessing intense clashes between government forces and Taliban insurgents amid various initiatives in various world capitals to reinvigorate peace talks.