Roundup: Afghan forces kill 36 militants, blast wounds 3 police

Afghan forces during a series of crackdowns against Taliban militants have killed three dozen insurgents; and a bomb blast wounded three police personnel since Thursday morning, officials said.

The units of national army during operations in Nawa district of Ghazni province with Ghazni city as its capital 125 km south of Kabul on Thursday have killed 21 armed militants, a senior army official of national army in the province said.

"Units of national army launched cleanup operations in Nawa district in the wee hours of Thursday and so far 21 rebels have been killed and seven others injured," Brigadier Fazal Khuda told Xinhua.

Three local Taliban commanders are also among those killed during the operations, the official said, adding 33 villages have been liberated from the clutches of the insurgents.

Similar conflict in Takhar province with Taluqan as its capital 245 km north of Kabul on Thursday left 15 militants dead, provincial government spokesman, Sunatullah Timor said.

"A group of armed Taliban attacked the residence of Hajji Mullah Omar the governor of Khawja Ghar district in Hazarbagh area at around 05:00 a.m. local time today and the bodyguards of the district governor returned fire leaving 15 attackers dead," Timor told Xinhua.

Meanwhile, a bomb blast organized by Taliban militants and went off at around 11:45 a.m. local time in Khost city, the capital of the eastern Khost province, leaving three police personnel injured, deputy to provincial police chief Mohammad Yaqub Mandozai told reporters.

Taliban militants fighting the government to regain power and re-establish their iron reign in the war-torn country launched their so-called annual spring offensive on April 24 in different provinces which have claimed hundreds of lives including militants, security personnel and civilians.

Militancy and conflicts typically increase in spring and summer in Afghanistan, commonly known as fighting season among Afghans. Endi