KABUL, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-led Coalition forces killed six armed militants and detained 12 suspected militants during operations Monday to disrupt the Hizb-e-Islami Gulbuddin, or HIG, and Haqqani networks in eastern Afghanistan, said a statement released here on Tuesday.

    Coalition forces targeted an HIG commander known to traffic large-scale weapons in Tagab district of Kapisa province, killing five militants and arresting seven others during the operation, the statement said.

    "A search of the compound found AK-47s and other military style equipment which were destroyed to prevent future use," it said.

    While in Ziruk district of Paktika province, Coalition forces killed one militant and detained five suspected militants during the operation targeting a known Haqqani subcommander who was believed to facilitate the movement of weapons and foreign fighters into the region, said the statement.

    Spiraling conflicts and Taliban-linked insurgency have claimed over 5,000 people, mostly militants, so far this year in strife-torn Afghanistan as Taliban insurgents and other anti-government militants have vowed to intensify assaults against interests of the Afghan government and international troops before the coming winter.