16 rebels killed in Paktika, Ghazni

SHARAN (PAN were killed during an airstrike and clashes with security forces in Paktika and Ghazni province, officials said on Wednesday.

The air raid killed 10 militants planting roadside bombs in the Kotni area of Sara Rawza district of Paktika on Tuesday night, the district chief, Raz Mohammad Mukhlis, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

Police chief Brig. Gen. Dawlat Khan Zadran confirmed the airstrike, saying police had been sent to the area for investigations. There were no casualties among civilians, he added.

In Ghazni, six rebels were killed during clashes with security forces in Giro and Qarabagh districts, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement. Weapons and bombs were recovered from the clash site.

Elsewhere in the south, a motorcycle bomb exploded in Helmand, killing an Afghan soldier and a civilian. Fifteen people were injured in the blast that happened near a market in Sangin district.

ma/mud