In Afghanistan, atleast 13 Taliban fighters were killed and 16 others injured in operations conducted by Afghanistan National Defence and Security Forces at the outskirts of Takhar provincial center on Thursday.<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #000000;">Ministry of Defence said yesterday that some amount of their weapons, ammunition and equipment were destroyed. Over the past few weeks, Afghanistan has been witnessing a surge in violence as the Taliban has intensified its offensive with the complete pullback of foreign forces just a few weeks before.</span><br />