Military officials in the northeast zone said Friday that over 120 Taliban fighters including their 20 commanders were killed in airstrikes and land operations during last month.
“At least 26 militants were killed in our operation in a few villages (in Kunduz) and 19 others were wounded. The area is fully cleared of insurgents,” Kunduz Police Chief Gen. Abdul Hamid Hamid said.
Officials from 209 Shaheen Military Corps Headquarters in Balk said the level of conflicts has fallen down in some provinces including Badakhshan and Baghlan following the military operations.
“Taliban has suffered heavy losses in the airstrikes,” said Colonel Ziauddin, Commander of the Second Regiment of the military corps.
Badakhshan officials said Taliban militants are afraid of the airstrikes and night raids and that the group has decreased its activities in the province.
“Our efforts are ongoing and we will remove their main strongholds in Wardooj and Yumgan districts (in Badakhshan) in the near future,” said Naeem Majidi, commander of Afghan Army’s Second Regiment in Badakhshan.
A number of Army soldiers meanwhile said the airstrikes that target the Taliban and other insurgents are effective for their ground operations.
“When their (Taliban’s) key commanders are killed in airstrikes or land operation, it positively impacts the morale of the soldiers,” Wahid, a soldier said.
“The enemy’s morale is low and they cannot fight against us,” Salahuddin, another soldier, said.
Taliban spokesman however has rejected the military officials’ remarks and has claimed that the given number is baseless.
Reports indicate that there are discrepancies between the numbers released by different security departments. For instance, the Defense Ministry has reported that a number of Taliban commanders were killed but the Ministry of Interior has said the commanders have been wounded in the operations.