MAIMANA, Afghanistan, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Sixteen Taliban militants were killed and 12 others wounded in clashes with army and in Afghan forces' airstrikes against their hideouts in the province of Faryab, an army source said Monday.
"The incident happened Sunday, when Afghan forces clashed with the armed Taliban and called for air support in Qaisar district. And among those militants killed were local leaders, Mullah Sayed Nayem, Mawlavi Aref and Shaikh Shamsuddin," Nasratullah Jamshidi, a spokesman of army Corps 209 Shaheen, told Xinhua.
The security forces also seized arms and ammunition along with 26 motorbikes.
In addition, Qari Noorullah, head of Taliban military commission in Aqcha district of neighboring Jawzjan province, was killed during an army operation earlier on Monday, Jamshidi confirmed.
Fighting has escalated in Afghanistan as the Taliban insurgency spreads from its traditional strongholds in the south and east to the once peaceful region in the north, where the militants have been recruiting from among the youth.
