KABUL – As many as 66 militants have been killed and 18 others sustained injuries in a series of Afghan Air Force (AAF) strikes in the country’s Helmand and Kandahar provinces, the Afghan Defense Ministry said on Saturday.
According to the military, the AAF strikes killed four Al-Qaeda (terrorist group, banned in Russia) and 26 Taliban fighters, as well as injured six others in Helmand’s Nawa district over the past two days. Another seven insurgents, who were plotting an attack on the Afghan security forces, were neutralized in the province’s Nad-e-Ali district on Friday.
The Defence Ministry added that 29 Taliban fighters had been killed and 12 others were injured in the Zhari and Panjwai districts of the Kandahar province.
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Though Kabul and the Taliban launched peace talks in Qatar in September, this has not led to a reduction in violence. On the contrary, the country has since witnessed fierce clashes between the Afghan army and the radical movement.
Afghan govt and Taliban must reach a political agreement as soon as possible
