44 Taliban militants killed in Afghnaistan

About 44 Taliban militants have been killed in a series of military operations in Afghanistan since early Thursday, said the country's interior ministry Friday morning.

"Over the past 24 hours, the Afghan police, army and intelligence agency carried out clean-up operations in Nangarhar, Kunduz, Logar, Paktiya and Helmand provinces, killing 44 armed Taliban insurgents, wounding six militants and detaining four others," Xinhua quoted the ministry as saying in a statement providing daily operational updates.

They also found and seized weapons, the statement said, without saying if there were any casualties on the side of security forces.

The Taliban-led violence continues in Afghanistan. Security forces have pressed on to clear the militants in restive provinces.

The Taliban respond by bombing and armed attacks. On Thursday evening, two civilians were killed and nine people were wounded when an improvised bomb went off in the northern Balkh province.

According to the statement, the police have also found and defused 14 roadside bombs and landmines in southern Kandahar province over the same period of time.