KABUL, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Several insurgents were killed Friday when security forces launched an operation in the country' s northern province of Sari Pul, the NATO-led coalition forces confirmed.
"An Afghan and coalition security force killed a number of armed insurgents during an operation in search of Taliban fighters in Sari Pul province today. The security force seized several assault rifles, shot guns, and grenades during the operation," the coalition said in statement, without giving the exact number of the killed.
Up to 10 armed Taliban insurgents were killed, and 38 others were detained in eight joint cleanup operations in Sari Pul, Wardak, Logar, Uruzgan, Helmand, Khost, Ghazni and Paktia provinces within a 24-hour period, the Afghan Ministry of Interior said in a statement earlier in the day.
Separately, "An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a number of suspected insurgents during an operation in search of a Taliban leader in southern Helmand province today. The Taliban leader is responsible for directing multiple attacks targeting Afghan and coalition forces throughout Helmand province," the coalition said in the statement.
However, the Taliban insurgent group, which announced the launching of an annual spring offensive from May 3 against Afghan and NATO forces, has not made comments yet.
The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since the militant group launched an annual spring offensive from May 3 against Afghan government and about 100,000 NATO-led troops stationed in the country.
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