4 Haqqani militants killed in Afghan airstrike

IANS  |  Gardez (Afghanistan) 

At least four Haqqani militants were killed in an airstrike in Afghanistan's province on Friday, officials said.

"Based on a confirmed tip-off, the airstrike was launched on outskirts of provincial capital Gardez on Friday morning. The sortie killed four militants of Haqqani group," according to a statement issued by the

Security forces and civilians did'nt suffer any damage in the strike which was launched by the NATO-led coalition forces in coordination with Afghan security forces, the statement was cited as saying by

A number of heavy and light weapons and ammunition were also destroyed in the raid.

Haqqani network, a Taliban-linked militant group, mostly operates in eastern provinces and capital and has been responsible for high-profile attacks on security forces.

The network, which was named as a group by the US in 2012, was yet to comment on the incident.

The Afghan security forces, backed by the NATO-led coalition troops, have increased ground and air offensives against militants within the past a few months as the fighting season is drawing near in the country.

Earlier in the day, the militant group announced the launch of a yearly rebel offensive against Afghan and coalition forces codenamed al-Fath.

--IANS

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First Published: Fri, April 12 2019. 18:40 IST