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IS militants killed in fresh operation in Afghanistan

Xinhua, July 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

About 36 Islamic State (IS) group militants were killed in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar within the last 24 hours, the Afghan Defense Ministry said on Friday.

"Afghan security forces have killed 36 IS militants during ground operations supported by the artillery and warplanes in Kot, Achin and Haskamina districts of Nangarhar over the past 24 hours," the ministry said in a statement.

In one operation, an IS bunker was destroyed and five IS fighters were killed after the security forces struck an IS position in Shongarrai area of Achin, according to the statement.

Nangarhar province with Jalalabad city as its capital, 120 km east of Kabul, has been the scene of clashes between security forces and IS militants since the emergence of IS there in early 2015.

Earlier on Friday, the Nangarhar provincial government confirmed that the NATO and U.S. forces also have used long-range missiles against the IS in Nangarhar.

Earlier this week, five U.S. Special Force members were wounded while they were conducting a joint military operation with Afghan forces against IS militants in Nangarhar.

In addition, one IS local commander named Hekmat Khan was killed after militants attacked security checkpoints and security forces repelled them in Quish Tepa district of northern Jawzjan province Thursday night, Abdul Hafiz Khashi, deputy provincial police chief, told Xinhua earlier on Friday.

On Thursday, the Afghan army personnel also detained six armed terrorists in neighboring Laghman province and found two AK-47, two pistols and a handful of ammunition, according to the statement.

The IS militant group has yet to make comments. Endit