KABUL, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Up to 55 militants have been killed in Afghan airstrikes in the militancy-battered country over the past 24 hours, officials said Tuesday.
In the latest sorties, military aircraft pounded Taliban hideouts in Aryub Zazai district of the eastern Paktia province in the wee hours of Tuesday, killing at least 13 insurgents, said an army statement.
The drone strikes, according to the statement, had also destroyed a Taliban vehicle and badly damaged their bunkers.
Similarly, air raids against Taliban hideout in Dawlat Abad district of northern Faryab province on Monday had killed six militants, including Mullah Rasoul, a Taliban shadow judge for the troubled Faryab province, another statement of army released in northern region said.
The Afghan security forces backed by aircraft have also targeted Taliban hideouts in Miwand district of the southern Kandahar province, killing up to 36 insurgents over the past 24 hours, an army spokesman in the southern region Mohammad Sadiq Eisa said Tuesday.
Afghan government intensified air attacks recently, and according to security officials, the airstrikes especially overnight operations have proved effective in defeating the anti-government militants.
