10 militants killed in Afghan raids

Ten Taliban militants have been killed in separate military operations across Afghanistan over the last 24 hours, the country's Interior Ministry said Sunday afternoon. "Afghan National Police (ANP) supported by the army and the NATO-led coalition forces conducted several cleanup operations in Kunar, Zabul, Uruzgan, Khost, Paktia, Badghis and Helmand provinces over the past 24 hours. As a result 10 armed Taliban were killed and three other armed Taliban were arrested," the ministry said in a statement. The ALP also found and seized weapons, the statement said. Figures released by the Afghan Interior Ministry showed a total of 77 militants had been killed and more than 100 others detained during military operations since beginning this month across the country. The militants responded by bombings and armed attacks. On Saturday night, two Afghan Local Police (ALP) service members were killed and six others were missing following a Taliban attack on an ALP checkpoint in Chigana village, Darzab district in northern province of Jawzjan, the district administrative chief, Rahmattullah Hashar, told Xinhua Sunday. The official said an investigation was kicked off in to the incident in the province 390 km north of Kabul. The NATO and U.S.-funded ALP or community police was established in August 2010 to protect villages and districts around the insurgency-hit country where Afghan army and police have limited presence. The missing cops may have been kidnapped by militants, the official added. However, unknown sources told local media that an ALP cop had helped facilitate the militants to launch the attack.