Kabul: Seventeen insurgents, including a local Taliban commander, have been killed by Afghan soldiers during a four-day operation in the country's Badghis province, Xinhua reported.
Badghis is about 555 km northwest of Kabul.
"Acting upon intelligence reports on insurgents' activities, the joint forces launched a cleanup operation on Wednesday in a number of villages which ended Saturday during which 17 insurgents were killed," provincial police chief Mohammad Jabar Salah said on Sunday.
Taliban local commander Mullah Mohammad Gul was among those killed.
Both security forces and Taliban guerrillas have intensified activities to consolidate their positions since the beginning of spring known as "fighting season" in war-ravaged Afghanistan.
On Saturday, the Taliban announced it was launching a spring offensive against Afghan and NATO-led forces on May 01.
IANS
First Published: Sunday, May 01, 2011, 18:37