<p>PUL-I-KHUMRI (Pajhwok): Clashes and airstrikes killed more than a dozen <a href="/en/taliban" class="glossify-link">Taliban</a> insurgents near the capital of northern Baghlan province during an ongoing operation, an official said on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Another 11 Taliban rebels were injured and four captured alive in the Dand-i-Ghori area on the outskirts of Pul-i-Khumri, Baghlan’s capital, said Maj. Mohammad Hanif Razai, spokesman for the Afghan National Army’s 209 Shaheen Military Corps.</p>
<p>He said the security forces had so far cleared five villages of Taliban’s presence and had captured a major center of the insurgents. He said the joint forces continued to advance in Dand-i-Ghori.</p>
<p>The military spokesman said security forces also confiscated 150 kilograms of explosives besides weapons and ammunition.</p>
<p>Razai said civilians escaped unhurt in the offensive. But a resident of the area, who declined to be named, told Pajhwok that five civilians were killed and 14 others wounded in the operations.</p>
<p>He said a number of families had fled homes due to the violence.</p>
<p>But Baghlan police spokesman Zabihullah Shujai also rejected civilian casualties in the operations in Dand-i-Ghori area.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the Taliban said they pushed back attacks by government forces in Dand-i-Ghori, killing four army soldiers and injuring two others.</p>
<p>The operation against Taliban militants was launched five days ago and is still ongoing.</p>
<p>ma</p>
