Afghan forces kill 51 Taliban: Defense Ministry

By Sayed Khodaberdi Sadat

KABUL (AA) – Dozens of Taliban militants were killed on Friday during army operations carried out in different parts of Afghanistan, the Afghan Defense Ministry said Friday.

In a statement, the ministry said that Afghan security forces had killed a total of 51 Taliban fighters -- and at least one an Al-Qaeda militant -- in Afghanistan’s Paktika, Paktia, Ghor, Ghazni, Faryab, Kandahar, Uruzgan, Herat, Baghlan, Jowzjan, Kunduz, Balkh, Farah and Helmand provinces.

Another 44 Taliban militants were injured, the ministry added, while three others had been captured.

According to the Defense Ministry, 13 Afghan security personnel were killed during the operations in various provinces, although Taliban spokesmen put the number at more than 20.