29 Taliban militants killed in joint operations by Afghan, US-led forces

According to a statement released by the country's Interior Ministry on Monday, “Afghan National Police (ANP) in coordination with the Afghan army, intelligence agency and the NATO-led coalition forces conducted several cleanup operations in Nangarhar, Baghlan, Kunduz, Faryab, Uruzgan, Logar, Ghazni, Farah and Helmand provinces over the last 24 hours. As a result 29 armed Taliban were killed.”
 
The statement also added that 15 Taliban militants were wounded while seven others were arrested during the operations.
 
Afghan security forces confiscated weapons and ammunition from the militants, the statement noted.
 
On the same day, Taliban militants claimed they had killed 19 US soldiers in an attack on a military convoy in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Ghazni.
 
In late April, the Taliban announced the start of their annual “offensive” against US-led and Afghan forces, vowing a new wave of attacks across Afghanistan.
 
The militant group said it would use "every possible tactic" to inflict casualties on Afghan and US-led forces. They specifically mentioned insider attacks, and bomb attacks.
 
The announcement prompted the Afghan authorities to beef up security in major cities across the country, including the capital city of Kabul.
 
The increasing number of casualties in Afghanistan has caused widespread anger against the United States and other NATO member states, undermining public support for the Afghan war, which began in 2001.
 
The US-led war in Afghanistan removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues to rise across Afghanistan, despite the presence of about 100,000 US-led troops.