'Afghan, foreign forces kill 26 Taliban militants'

Over the past 48 hours, at least 26 Taliban militants have been killed by Afghan and foreign forces in the war-torn country, Press TV reports. According to a statement by the Afghan government, the joined forces also arrested at least another 35 militants in the provinces of Kandahar, Nangarhar, Badakhshan, Paktika, Ghazni, Khost, and Faryab. The Taliban have not yet confirmed the recent deaths. Earlier, the Afghan government announced that it had gained control over controversial night raids in an agreement with the US. Overall, 3,021 civilians died in violence related to the war and 4,507 were wounded in 2011. Of the deaths, the UN attributed 77 percent to militant attacks and 14 percent to US-led foreign troops and Afghan forces. Nine percent of the cases were classified as unknown. Insecurity continues to rise across Afghanistan despite the presence of some 130,000 US-led forces in the Asian country.