Overnight operations kill 8 Taliban militants in N. Afghanistan

At least eight Taliban militants were killed and 14 others sustained injuries during overnight operations in Ashkashim district of the northern Badakhshan province, army official General Mohammad Jalal said Tuesday.

The operations, according to the official, were launched at 02:00 a.m. local time Tuesday and so far four villages had also been liberated from the clutches of insurgents.

Taliban militants who overrun Zebak district over weekend and have been attempting to capture the neighboring Ashkashim district haven't commented on the situation.

Government forces launched cleanup operations in Zabak on Sunday and so far, according to local officials, scores of militants have been killed.

The northern Badakhshan province with Faizabad as its capital, 315 km northeast of Kabul, has been the scene of Taliban group activities over the past few years. Enditem