Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, Dec. 16

SARI PUL -- At least five Afghan civilians were killed and eight others wounded during armed clashes in a strategic valley in the country's northern province of Sari Pul, a local official said Saturday.

"Afghan National Defense and Security Forces launched an operation Saturday morning, to drive Taliban out from Tabar valley, Sangcharak district. The operation is tactically ongoing to avoid civilian casualties," Sayyed Sarwar Housaini, spokesman of 707 Pamir Police Zone based in the region, told Xinhua. (Afghanistan-Unrest)

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ABUJA -- Nigerian government forces have captured 220 Boko Haram fighters in recent clearance operations on the terror group's enclaves, a spokesman for the army said on Saturday.

The troops captured 167 terrorists after raiding their enclaves in Lake Chad Basin, while 53 others were captured in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno, said Onyema Nwachukwu, the army spokesman. (Nigeria-Boko Haram)

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BAGHDAD -- Iraqi security forces launched an operation on Saturday to hunt down remnants of Islamic State (IS) militants at rugged rural area in northern central Iraq, the Iraqi military said.

On Saturday morning, the troops backed by paramilitary Hashd Shaabi brigades advanced from three directions to clear Mteibijah area near the border between the provinces of Salahudin and Diyala, the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC) said in a brief statement. (Iraq-IS)

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JALALABAD -- Sixteen insurgents of Taliban and Islamic State (IS) group were killed in two eastern Afghan provinces, authorities said Saturday.

Two Tajikistani militants of IS terrorist group were killed after a NATO-led coalition forces' drone struck Langari Kando locality of Haska Mina district of Nangarhar province at around midday Saturday, a provincial government spokesman, Attahullah Khogyani, told Xinhua. (Afghanistan-Military Conflict) Enditem