Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry says government forces have gained control of a district in the country’s north from the Taliban.

Separatists are waging violence against civilians in the Kashmir Valley, in a bid to bring the region to a halt.

Pakistan is trying to avoid getting blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force, a global watchdog, when it meets Wednesday in Paris.

More than 50 militants have been killed elsewhere in Afghanistan over the past 24 hours as the government forces have intensified crackdowns on the armed insurgents, officials said Tuesday.

At least three security officers have been killed and dozens wounded, mostly children, after the Taliban set off explosives in a truck near a police headquarters building in eastern Afghanistan, officials have said.