Troops kill 19 militants in Afghanistan

KABUL - Afghan and NATO-led troops killed 19 militants in separate overnight operations in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province, officials said Wednesday.

The joint forces eliminated eight militants in Omna district of Paktika province during an operation Tuesday night, the press department of NATO-led forces in southeast Afghanistan in a statement released in Khost city said.

The statement also said that some foreign militants were among those killed but did not disclose their nationality, Xinhua reported.

In a separate operation Tuesday night, the national forces backed by NATO-led troops killed 11 Taliban militants including some Arab fighters in Sarobi district of Paktika, Paktika’s provincial administration spokesman Mukhlis Afghan said.

Taliban militants have yet to make any comment.

The hard-liner militias have intensified their assaults against interest of government and NATO-led troops over the past couple of years in Afghanistan’s eastern region bordering Pakistan.

Around 130,000-strong NATO-led troops are stationed in Afghanistan to help ensure peace in the post-Taliban country.