LOC22:56
19:56 GMT
ISLAMABAD, July 19 (KUNA) -- At least 27 Taliban rebels including local chiefs have been killed and many others injured in air strikes by security forces in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, said an official on Tuesday.
The spokesman of the 215th Maiwand Military Corps, Lt. Col. Mohammad Rasoul Zazai told media that the airstrikes were conducted in Sangin district of Helmand.
He said that Taliban's shadow district chief, Maulvi Noor Agha and 15 other fighters were killed and as many wounded in the airstrikes. The insurgents' vehicle was also destroyed, he added.
Moreover, the official said that around 11 rebels were eliminated and a cache of weapons was destroyed in air raids in Gerishk district of the Helmand. The dead included Taliban's local council's commission head, Mullah Mir Hamza, said Zazai.
According to local media, Taliban rebels have claimed to captured the Sangin district and kill several security officials in the clashes. The air raids came at a time when Taliban rebels have paced up their attacks across Afghanistan rejecting the peace dialogue offer by the government. (end)
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