26 Taliban fighters killed in northern Afghanistan

Amira al-Sharif

Twenty-six fighters of the militant Taliban movement were killed during a security operation in different parts of northern Afghanistan, the Afghan Ministry of Defense said.

It added that the Afghan air force launched airstrikes on Taliban hideouts in these areas, noting that the killed Taliban fighters included three commanders of the militant movement.

Nevertheless, the Taliban has not commented on the report of the Afghan Ministry of Defense.

The air raids came only two days after the Taliban launched a series of attacks in the cities of Helmand and Heart. It said 25 government troops were killed in these attacks.

Taliban Spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the Afghan government had launched 52 airstrikes on Taliban camps in the past two weeks.

About 161 civilians were killed in these airstrikes, he wrote on Twitter.

Mujahid did not, however, mention any casualties within the ranks of his movement.

Meanwhile, the German Ministry of Defense has warned against potential attacks by the Taliban if Western troops continued to be present in Afghanistan beyond May 1.

According to the agreement signed by the Taliban and the United States in Doha, all Western troops have to get out of Afghanistan by that date.

Germany Minister of Defense Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said she had asked German troops deployed in Afghanistan to step up security measures to protect themselves against these attacks.

Berlin, she said, wants to ensure that German troops will pull out of Afghanistan in an organized manner.