15 militants, 2 soldiers killed in Afghanistan

Kabul, April 10 (IANS) At least 15 militants and two soldiers were killed in clashes between the two sides in Afghanistan's Herat province, a local official said on Tuesday.

"The clashes occurred after Taliban militants stormed security checkpoints with guns and rockets in remote Chishti Sharif district late on Monday... Eight others were injured," Jilani Farhad, spokesman for provincial government, told Xinhua news agency.

Earlier on Tuesday, Afghanistan's Defence Ministry said the security forces waged 15 cleanup operations and 56 special operations in 11 provinces over the past 24 hours.

The Afghan Air Force conducted 43 supportive flights and eight airstrikes against militants while the Army's bomb disposal teams found and destroyed 68 rounds of landmines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in different provinces over the period, the Ministry said.

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