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'Over 100 militants killed' in Afghanistan in 24 hours

President calls for countrywide offensives against militants not interested in joining peace process

Ersin Çelik
15:53 - 4/02/2018 Sunday
Update: 15:54 - 4/02/2018 Sunday
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An Afghan security force member stands guard
An Afghan security force member stands guard

More than 100 suspected militants have been killed across the country in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Defense announced Sunday.

The move comes after President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani declared last Tuesday’s massive Taliban assault in capital Kabul as Afghanistan's 9/11.

In an official statement, the Ministry said the suspected militants were killed in air and ground offensives in Helmand, Nimroz, Uruzgan, Farah and Zabul provinces in the south; Faryab and Baghlan in the north; and Nangarhar, Ghazni and Logar in the east.

In the last 24 hours, 11 operations were conducted by security forces and 12 operations were carried out by the army's Special Forces, the statement read.

Similar raids were carried out a day earlier as well in all these provinces and in Kandahar, Ghazni and Maidan Wardak provinces that left more than 50 suspected militants killed.

The Jan. 27 attack in Kabul left more than 100 people killed and over 200 others wounded when a Taliban suicide bomber rammed an improvised ambulance loaded with explosives at the entrance of the Ministry of Interior.

The president has since directed countrywide offensives against militants not interested in joining the peace process.

The government blames the Taliban's powerful Haqqani network for recent attacks and accuses Pakistan of providing sanctuaries to the militant network on its soil. However, Islamabad has denied all such charges and accused Kabul of allowing Taliban factions to launch terrorist attacks on civilians and security forces inside Pakistan from its territory.

#Taliban
#Afghanistan
#KABUL
#Militants
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