19 militants killed in Afghan raids within day

Nineteen militants have been killed in military operations in different Afghan provinces within the last 24 hours, the country's Interior Ministry confirmed on Tuesday. "Up to 19 Taliban militants were killed, three wounded and 13 others captured as Afghan National Police (ANP) conducted cleanup operations over the past 24 hours," the ministry said in a press statement. The raids were launched, with close support of the army and the NATO-led coalition forces in Kunar, Nangarhar, Kunduz, Zabul, Ghazni, Herat and Helmand provinces, it noted. In addition, the ANP also found and seized weapons and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in above operations, it said. Separately, the ANP discovered and defused seven IEDs in Uruzgan, Logar, Herat and Paktiya provinces. The Taliban has yet to make comments. On Monday night, two ANP policemen were injured when an IED went off near a police checkpoint in Kandahar city, the capital of southern Kandahr province, provincial government spokesman Jawid Faisal told Xinhua earlier on Tuesday.