[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least 33 Lions of Islam were killed in air and ground operations of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) in the past 24 hours.The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said at least 29 Lions of Islam were also maimed during the operations which were conducted in Faryab, Herat
...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns...
, Baghlan, Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
, and Maidan Wardak provinces.
A statement by MoD said at least 18 of the Lions of Islam were killed and 21 others were maimed in Garzewan district of Faryab, while 7 others were killed and 3 more were maimed in Shindand district of Herat.
The statement further added that 3 Lions of Islam were killed and 5 others were maimed during a separate operation in Dand-e-Shahabuddin district of Baghlan.
At least 4 Lions of Islam were killed during an operation in Greshk district of southern Helmand province, MoD said, adding that another bully boy was killed in Nerkh district of Maidan Wardak.
According to MoD, a soldier of the Afghan National Army (ANA) forces also lost his life during the operations.
The anti-government armed bully boy groups have not commented regarding the reports so far.
The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) have stepped up crackdown on anti-government armed bully boy groups to suppress their insurgency activities amid deteriorating security situation.
This comes as the Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since the group announced their summer offensive earlier this month and vowed to carry out more attacks across the country.