Local Taliban leader, 4 militants killed in N. Afghanistan

A key local Taliban militant leader along with four of his subordinates have been killed in a cleanup operation in northern Balkh province, an army source said Monday.

The incident happened on Sunday in Khair Abad village, Balkh, when Afghan National Army (ANA) forces launched a cleanup operation that resulted in the death of Habibullah Ayubi, a Taliban local leader, and four of his fighters, Mohammad Hanif Rezaye, spokesman of army's 209 Shaheen Corps told Xinhua.

Three motorcycles used by the militants in guerilla fighting against government forces, one vehicle and five rounds of weapons, as well as an amount of explosives and heavy quantity of narcotics have also been confiscated from militants during the operation, he added.

The Afghan security forces have recently beefed up security operations against the Taliban militants who have been attempting to take territory and consolidate their positions in the countryside during the winter.

The Taliban militant group hasn't made a comment on the report yet.