15 insurgents dead in Laghman offensive

MEHTARLAM (PAN): Fifteen insurgents were killed and three others, including a police officer, detained during a search operation in eastern Laghman province, officials said on Friday.

Afghan and NATO-led troops conducted the predawn offensive in the Tor Ghar area of Surkhakan district, the 201^st Selab Corps spokesman, Lt. Col. Shah Alam Baghlani told Pajhwok Afghan News.

The militants, who descended from the local mountains, were attacked while planting landmines on the Kabul-Jalalabad highway, the commander said. The rebels’ bodies and arms, including Kalashnikovs, lay at the site, he added.

Elsewhere in the province, International Assistance Security Force (ISAF) soldiers detained three suspects during a search operation in Daulat Shah district.

Local police commander, Haji Noorani, said a police officer, Ajab Gul, was among those held during the offensive in the Pradoli neighbourhood.  The two others were identified as Mirza Mohammad and Fateh Mohammad, both residents of Daulat Shah district.

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