FARAH, Afghanistan, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- The airstrikes conducted by Afghan forces have left up to 31 militants dead in the war-battered country since Saturday, officials said Sunday.
The security forces in latest sorties, targeted Taliban's hideouts in Dawlatabad district of the northern Faryab province early on Sunday, killing seven insurgents and injuring five others, Nasratullah Jamshidian, an army spokesman in the northern region, said.
According to Jamshidian, aircraft, acting upon intelligence reports, struck Taliban hideouts in Bazaar Qala and Zarshoi villages of Dawlatabad district on early morning, killing seven insurgents, destroying their arms and ammunition.
In similar sorties, aircraft of government forces pounded Taliban positions in Janat Bagh area of Khan Abad district in northern Kunduz province late Saturday night, killing four armed militants including a group commander Mullah Aziz on the spot and wounding five others.
The government forces, moreover, launched air attacks on Taliban hideouts in Khak-e-Safid district of western Farah province on Saturday morning, killing at least 20 insurgents including three local commanders and injuring eight others, Afghan Defense Ministry said in a statement released on Sunday.
Afghan security forces backed by the U.S. and NATO-led Resolute Support personnel, according to security officials, would intensify attacks against militants in the chilly winter to weaken the armed opposition groups elsewhere in the war-torn country ahead of spring.
