17 rebels killed in Helmand, Laghman

LASHKARGAH (Pajhwok): Seventeen militants and one army personnel have been killed and five rebels wounded during separate incidents in southern Helmand and eastern Laghman provinces, officials said on Monday.

In Laghman, nearly a dozen insurgents, including a commander, were killed during an operation by Afghan forces.

The governor’s spokesman, Sarhadi Zwak, said the operation launched on Sunday was aimed at driving insurgents from Gul Aram, Kata Sang, and Haidar Ghra areas. He confirmed the death of an ANA soldier during the operation.

In Helmand, three militants were killed in a blast caused by their own explosives in Shamali area of Nad Ali district late on Sunday.

215th Maiwand Military Crops commander Gen Mohammad Nasim Sangin, who confirmed the blast and the casualties, told Pajhwok Afghan News another three militants were killed and five others wounded during a clash with the troops in Greshk district.

He said the Maiwand crops suffered no casualties during the gun-battle that broke out in Bawar area

Meanwhile, Taliban‘s spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmadi claimed four Afghan and two foreign soldiers had been killed in roadside bomb attacks in Sangin and Nad Ali districts.

mds/ma