More than 800 Pakistan sponsored Taliban killed in Afghan military action,

Kabul: Reportedly, more than 800 Pakistan sponsored Taliban militants, including a few Pakistani nationals, were killed in a massive operation undertaken by the Afghanistan military. This information was revealed in a statement issued by the Afghanistan defence ministry. The report said that the action was carried out between 16th to 27th July. This success achieved by the Afghan military becomes significant at a time when the intensity and frequency of the Taliban attacks have been increasing over the last few months.

Currently, Russia, China and Iran, along with the United States, are trying for successful peace talk with the Taliban. However, the efforts have not yet yielded expected results. On the other hand, the Taliban had demonstrated that it would not stop the violence, by carrying out attacks on the Afghan security and other agencies, even when the talks were in progress. The Afghan government is not a part of any of these peace talks initiated by the United States as well as the other countries. The Afghanistan government has openly expressed its displeasure over its omission from the negotiations. The action of the Afghan military while the peace talks are going on also point to the same resentment.

As per the information by the Afghanistan defence department, an extensive campaign was undertaken in 17 provinces including Ghazni, Helmond, Kandahar, Kunar, Ghor and Nangarhar. More than 100 joint actions were carried out during the campaign. It is claimed that the commando and Special Forces also carried out hundreds of operations.

The Afghan defence ministry informed that nearly 811 Pakistan sponsored Taliban militants, were killed in the campaign. The Afghan ministry said that one of the militants was identified as a Pakistani soldier, from the identity card found with him. More than 300 terrorists have been injured in the campaign, and 30 have been arrested.

Large quantities of arms and drugs have been seized during the campaign of the Afghan military. The Afghan sources claimed that this new campaign would help in reducing the threat to the Afghanistan government, from the Taliban. It is believed that more than one-third of Afghanistan territory is under Taliban control, and the terrorist organisation IS also is trying to strengthen its foothold in Afghanistan.