11 Afghan soldiers killed in past 24 hours

At least 11 soldiers of the Afghan National Army (ANA) forces were killed in the fight against terrorism in the past 24 hours.

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) in its statement said that the soldiers were martyred while conducting counter-terrorism operations against the internal and external terrorists.

"The Afghan National Army (ANA) forces are prepared for all kinds of devotion and with all force to maintain security and comfort for the people of Afghanistan," the Khaama Press quoted the statement by Ministry of Defense as saying.

Apart from the 11 soldiers, at least 65 militants were also killed and 22 others were wounded during the same operations the statement said.

The operations were conducted in Kandahar, Ghor, Baghlan, Helmand, Maidan WArdak, Kunar and Ghazni provinces with the support of Afghan Air Force and artillery units.

The Ministry of Defense added that a commander of the Taliban group identified as Mullah Abdul Hadi was also among those killed during the clearance operations.

So far, no anti-government armed militant groups have commented regarding the reports.