2 soldiers, 24 militants killed in clashes in northern Afghanistan

Two Afghan security force members and 24 militants were killed in fresh clashes in Darzab district of northern Jawzjan province during Friday night, a spokesman of provincial government said Saturday.

“The militants clashed with troops who were involved in an ongoing cleanup operation in Darzab. The clashes also left 16 militants wounded,” spokesman Maruf Haazar told Xinhua.

The security force members cleared five villages in Darzab from militants within the past 24 hours during the operation which kicked off about seven days ago, the source said, adding the two soldiers lost their lives when their vehicle detonated a Taliban landmine on Friday night.

According to the spokesman, eight diseased militants were members of the Taliban’s so-called Sara Qeta or militants’ Special Forces who arrived from neighboring Sari Pul province to support Taliban in Darzab fighting.

No civilian was hurt during the clashes, he said.

The Taliban militant group fighting the government for the past 18 years has not made comments on the report so far.