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Roundup: 21 Afghan militants killed in fighting, 3 soldiers perished as chopper crashes

Xinhua, January 3, 2016 Adjust font size:

In the conflict-ridden Afghanistan, 21 armed militants have been killed and an army chopper crashed since Saturday, officials confirmed on Sunday.

In the latest violent incident, a chopper of national army was crashed in the eastern Logar province on Sunday, leaving three soldiers dead.

"A chopper of national army was crashed near the training center of National Army in Shakar Qala area of Logar province on Sunday afternoon, leaving three soldiers dead," spokesman for Logar's provincial government, Salim Sahil told Xinhua.

Without furnishing more details, the official added investigation had been initiated into the incident.

Meantime, spokesman for defense ministry Dawlat Waziri in talks with media confirmed the air crash, saying three soldiers were killed and two others sustained injuries due to the crash of MI-17 helicopter in Logar province on Sunday.

Waziri also blamed technical problems for the deadly air crash.

The crash occurred amid heavy fighting between government forces and Taliban outfit in the southern Helmand province where the militants have been attempting to capture the strategically important Marja and Sangin districts.

Moreover, the Afghan Interior Ministry in a statement released here on Sunday reported killing 21 Taliban fighters and injuring 11 others over the past 24 hours.

"Up to 21 Taliban militants have been killed during series of operations elsewhere in the conflict-ridden Afghanistan over the past 24 hours, Ministry of Interior said in a statement released here on Sunday," the statement asserted.

Eleven more insurgents have been injured during the operations which covered parts of Faryab, Sar-e-Pul, Jowzjan, Kandahar, Oruzgan, Ghazni, Paktika, Paktiya, Herat and Helmand provinces, the statement asserted.

The statement didn't say if there were casualties on security personnel. Taliban militants fighting the government to regain power haven't commented.

Both the Taliban militants and government forces, according to local political observers, have been doing their best to gain more grounds before entering the proposed peace talks probably held in the coming weeks. Enditem