38 militants killed in Afghan cleanup operations

Afghan security forces have killed 38 militants in military operations in separate provinces in the last 24 hours, the Interior Ministry announced on Saturday. "The army, police and intelligence agency personnel conducted cleanup operations in Nangarhar, Paktiya, Farah, Kunduz, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghor and Nimroz province, killing 38 Taliban militants, injuring 25 and arresting six other armed militants over the past 24 hours," the ministry said in a statement, Xinhua reported. The Afghan National Police had also found and defused 28 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and roadside bombs over the same period of time, the statement noted. The statement did not disclose if there were any casualties on the side of security forces. The security forces have recently intensified operations across the country as spring and summer known as the fighting season is drawing near. The Taliban responds by bombing and armed attacks. The militant group has yet to make comments. On Friday night, one police was killed and four others wounded in a twin bomb attack in Western Herat province.