by Farid Behbud
KABUL, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Up to 84 militants have been killed and 17 injured across Afghanistan since early Tuesday as the country's security forces continued to press Taliban and other militants by conducting daily raids and operations, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.
The counter-insurgency operations have been stepped up since late April when Taliban militants launched their annual spring offensive to target security forces.
Those among killed since Tuesday included two senior Taliban leaders and six fighters of the Islamic State (IS) terror group, the statement noted.
The Afghan army, in close coordination with police and national intelligence agency, conducted 18 search and cordon operations, 18 special operations as well as one night raid operation over the period, according to the statement.
The operations were aiming to dismantle the insurgency's mid-level command structure and its supply line, it added.
In the southern Zabul province, a local Taliban leader named Mullah Saifullah was killed together with three militants during a raid in the province, 340 km south of Kabul.
Meanwhile, another setback for the Taliban was the loss of local leader Abdul Raziq Surgul who was killed with five other militants after Afghan air force struck their hideout in eastern Wardak province.
Surgul, who served as Taliban shadow district governor for Chak district of Wardak, was involved in organizing series of attacks against security forces across Wardak, 35 km west of Kabul, according to the statement.
The statement added that elimination of the targeted militants would further improve public security in the two neighboring provinces.
According to the statement, Afghan air force has conducted 20 airstrikes as well as 108 supportive flights within the period.
In another development, the engineering teams of Afghan army found and defused 48 landmines and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in different places, foiling several planned explosions.
The latest raids came when U.S. President Donald Trump revealed his new approach for the solution of the 16-year-long war in Afghanistan, reportedly registered the longest war in the history of America.
On Monday night, Trump said that a rapid exit of the U.S. troops from Afghanistan was "unacceptable" and the new strategy will shift from a time-based approach to one based on conditions on the ground.
It is also expected that the U.S.-led coalition forces will speed up their drone strike targeting militants' hideout and bunkers in rough terrains in the mountainous country.
However, the militants may respond by massive suicide attacks and roadside bombings.
Earlier on Wednesday, seven people, including four army soldiers, were killed and 42 others injured after a Taliban car bombing struck an army convoy in Helmand province, 555 km south of Kabul.
