UPDATE - 54 Taliban killed by Afghan forces in major assault

UPDATES DEATH TOLL TO 54, CHANGES HEADLINE

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) - Afghan military killed 54 suspected Taliban fighters in raids in southern Helmand province on Sunday night during a major effort to retake lost territory, according to a provincial government’s statement on Monday.

The Lashkargah city-based government said the raids had targeted suspected Taliban hideouts in Nawa district.

Backed by allied forces, Afghan troops also conducted a ground operation to reclaim the district from the militants.

"Haji Ahmad, Faizi and Haqbeen -- the three Taliban commanders -- are among the dead," the statement said, adding that vast areas of the district had been cleared.

Provincial police headquarters spokesman Abdul Salam told Anadolu Agency Afghan Special Forces killed 42 militants and wounded 27 others in the operation.

"Our aim is to retake all lost territory, and eliminate threats posed to the provincial capital, Lashkargah," Salam said.

Up to 12 more suspected fighters have been killed following similar raids on suspected militant hideouts in surrounding areas of Lashkargah city, the spokesman said, adding that there no casualties among soldiers and civilians during raids in Nawa district and Bolan area around the provincial capital.

On Sunday, the Ministry of Defense vowed to retake all lost territory from the militants with the ongoing "Khalid Offensives". The ministry said eight districts across the country remain under the control of militants.

However, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, a U.S. watchdog, estimates that the Taliban controls 11 districts and influences 34 of Afghanistan’s 407 districts (11 percent), while the Afghan government controls 97 districts and influences 146 (60 percent).

In its most recent quarterly report to U.S. Congress, the watchdog noted that 27 percent of Afghanistan’s districts remain contested.

Helmand remains a strong bastion for the Taliban, a group which is waging an armed rebellion against the Afghan and allied forces since their regime was toppled in 2001.