Twenty one armed Taliban insurgents were killed and eight others arrested by Afghan and NATO-coalition forces in 11 joint clearance operations during the past 24 hours in Afghanistan. A press release issued by the Afghan Interior Ministry in Kabul ton Monday said, the operations were launched in Kunduz, Uruzgan, Maidan Wardak, Ghazni, Farah, Ghor and Helmand provinces. A number of arms and ammunition, 41 kilograms of opium, 7850 kilograms of chemicals and other incriminating items were recovered during the operations. In separate operations in Kunar, Laghman and Baghlan provinces, Afghan police defused four landmines on Sunday.

The joint force of Afghan and NATO-coalition troops arrested a local Taliban leader in Nangarhar province and an improvised explosive device expert in Kandhar province today. The International Force in Afghanistan in its press release also said that a number of insurgents have been killed or arrested during the operations.