8 militants killed, 12 detained in Afghanistan

Eight militants have been killed and 12 others detained in Afghanistan over the past 24 hours, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday. "Afghan National Police (ANP) carried out several cleanup operations in collaboration with army and the NATO-led coalition forces in Logar, Parwan, Ghazni, Khost, Samangan, Zabul and Uruzgan provinces, killing eight armed Taliban insurgents and detaining 12 others over the past 24 hours," the ministry said in a statement providing daily operational updates. The ANP found and seized weapons, the statement said, without saying if there were any casualties on the side of security forces. Over the same period of time, the ANP also found and defused four landmines in southern Helmand and eastern Nangarhar province, it added. The Taliban, which has been waging an insurgency for more than one decade, has yet to make comments. The Afghan army and police, backed by NATO-led coalition troops, have intensified operations against Taliban and other militant groups recently. But the insurgent groups responded by bombings. On Monday, Taliban carried out a roadside bombing killing two ANP officers in southern Uruzgan province.