51 Taliban members killed in 5 Afghan provinces

The Afghan Ministry of Defense announced in a statement on Tuesday that 14 members of the Taliban were killed in an army preventive operation in Logar province.

The statement added that 22 people, including seven government forces, were released from a Taliban prison in the province.

The Afghan Ministry of Defense added that 8 militants were killed and 3 others were wounded in Zabul province, 18 Taliban members were killed and 9 wounded in Arghandab and Panjwai districts of Kandahar province and 6 Taliban members were also killed in Balkh province.

The ministry also announced that six members of the Taliban, including important commanders, had been killed by army forces in Nahri Saraj.

The source wrote that Molla Bashir and Matiallah were among the key Taliban commanders in Helmand who were killed in an airstrike by army fighters.

Meanwhile, the Afghan president's national security adviser said that 600 Taliban prisoners who had been released by the government before the start of peace talks had been re-arrested after returning to the battlefield.

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