Scores of Taliban militants were killed last week in an operation involving Afghan and foreign troops in Afghanistan, the interior ministry said on Sunday.The operation occurred in the Bala Boluk and Bakwa districts of western Farah province which lies near the border with Iran, the ministry said in a statement, adding the districts were under the control of the government. "It is worth mentioning that the operation lasted for three days, as a result of which more than 100 enemies of Afghanistan's peace and stability were killed," it said.
An interior ministry official said there were no casualties among Afghan forces and the U.S.-led troops during the operation. He did not know if air support was involved.
The government release on the Taliban deaths comes amid other reports from the area about civilian casualties during the operation, but the ministry official said he had no information about these reports. The Taliban could not be contacted immediately for comment. If accurate, the reported losses will be the heaviest amongst the militants in many months in Afghanistan where violence has surged since 2006.
Ousted from power in 2001, the al Qaeda-backed Taliban are largely active in southern and eastern areas and the militants mostly rely on suicide attacks and roadside bomb in the face of some heavy losses in conventional battles in recent years.
In capital Kabul on Sunday, a remote-controlled blast aimed at an army bus killed a civilian woman and wounded five, including three army soldiers, the defence ministry said.