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AFGHANISTAN-UNREST
9 militants killed in eastern Afghan province
KABUL, Dec 29, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – At least nine armed militants have been
killed in two separate incidents in Afghanistan’s eastern province of
Nangarhar, the Afghan Ministry of Defense said Saturday.
In one incident, five Taliban militants were killed and three others
wounded following an Afghan National Army cleanup operation in Hisarak
district in the western side of the province, the ministry said in a
statement.
In a separate incident, four Islamic State (IS) militants were killed
after the Afghan Air Force launched an airstrike in Dih Bala district, south
of Nangarhar.
The mountainous province has been the scene of heavy clashes between
security forces and militant groups.
The clashes have forced thousands of villagers to flee to safer places.
More than 12,700 houses, 17 schools, five mosques, eight health centers and
hundreds of kilometers of roads have been destroyed in Nangarhar since early
this year, according to provincial officials.
Warring sides in Afghanistan often exaggerate the casualties of the
opponent side and it is difficult to verify with independent sources.
BSS/XINHUA/FI/ 1656 hrs