KUNDUZ CITY (PAN): Four militants were killed and several areas cleared of insurgents in the Dasht-i-Archi district of northeastern Kunduz province, security officials said on Monday.
The fighters  were killed during an Afghan National Army (ANA) led-operation, 209th Shaheen Military Corps commander in the north, Maj. Abdul Basir Yahyazada, told Pajhwok Afghan News.
Four insurgents and an Afghan Local Police (ALP) member were also wounded during the operation, he said, adding six villages -- Anjir, Taraki, Mullah Alam, Chaharahi Nabijan, Sarfaraz and Pul-i-Sultan -- cleared of guerrillas.
The operation was launched after a number of insurgents sneaked from neighbouring Takhar province into to Dasht-i-Archi, said the district chief, Sheikh Sadruddin Saadi.
A resident of the area, Akhtar Mohammad, described the offensive as effective and had helped improved the security environment. “In the past, Taliban attacked police posts in our area, but now they are on the run.”
The Taliban have not yet commented on the operation, but their spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed the fighters had killed three policemen during a clash in Chahar Dara district.
mds/mud