DNA
\nKABUL
\nAt least 52 militants, including two local Taliban leaders, have been killed following Afghan army operations in the restive eastern province of Ghazni, the country\u2019s Ministry of Defense said Sunday.
\n\u201cUp to 52 Taliban terrorists have been killed following three separate Afghan National Army commando operations and airstrikes against Taliban positions in Ghazni since early Saturday,\u201d the ministry said in a statement.
\nThose among the killed were two Taliban local group leaders named Abu Khalid and Qumandan Sarhadi, the statement said.
\nThe province, 125 km south of the country\u2019s capital Kabul, has been the scene of heavy clashes and fighting for long.
\nThe Afghan National Defense and Security Forces remain in control of most of Afghanistan\u2019s population centers and all of 34 provincial capitals, but Taliban insurgents control large portions of rural areas, staging coordinated large-scale attacks against Afghan cities and districts.
\nWarring sides in Afghanistan typically exaggerate the casualties of the opposite side and it is difficult to verify the figures by them with independent sources.
\nThe militant group has not made a comment on the report yet.
\nTaliban suicide attack on police HQ leaves tens injured in Afghanistan
\nAt least 20 people were injured after a Taliban suicide bomber drove an explosives-packed Humvee and blew himself up at the police headquarters in the northern Afghan city of Pul-e-Khumri, Afghan officials and the Taliban said on Sunday.
\nMany armed Taliban fighters entered the police headquarters after the blast and opened fire on security forces stationed there.
\n\u201cClashes have not stopped. 20 injured people were taken to the hospital from the blast site,\u201d said Assadullah Shahbaz, a member of the Baghlan provincial council, adding they have sought immediate deployment from neighboring provinces.
\nThe Taliban claimed responsibility for the \u201cbig blast\u201d and the clashes with the Afghan forces.
\n\u201cSeveral other Taliban fighters are presently clashing with the Afghan forces,\u201d Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.
\nNasrat Rahimi, a spokesman at the interior ministry in Kabul, said the Afghan forces have gunned down a Taliban fighter who tried to enter the police headquarters, but several Taliban fighters have penetrated the offices.
\nThe Taliban have stepped up attacks on security installations to demoralize Afghan police and troops even as they are holding direct talks with the US officials to end the war in Afghanistan. Intense fighting continues across the country with the Taliban controlling or influencing more territory than at any point since their ouster at the hands of US-led troops following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DNA KABUL At least 52 militants, including two local Taliban leaders, have been killed following Afghan army operations in the restive eastern province of Ghazni, the country\u2019s Ministry of Defense said Sunday. \u201cUp to 52 Taliban terrorists have been killed following three separate Afghan National Army commando operations and airstrikes against Taliban positions in Ghazni […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62668,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n