The endemic conflicts and increasing militancy have claimed 33 lives, accordingly all anti-government fighters in Afghanistan over the past two days, officials asserted Tuesday.

In the latest storm against anti-government militants, according to an Afghan national army official in the southern Ghazni province 125 km south of Afghan capital Kabul, 17 Taliban fighters were killed early Tuesday morning during a clean-up operation in Andar district.

"Units of Afghan national army in coordination with the NATO- led coalition forces raided Taliban hideouts in Sangi and Nazarwal villages of Andar district late Monday night and during the clean- up operation which concluded at around 01:00 a.m. local time Tuesday, 17 rebels had been killed," Mohammad Hakim Stanikzai who speaks for 203 Thunder Corps of Afghan national army in Ghazni, told Xinhua.

Two of those militants killed in the operations, according to Stanikzai, are Afghans and the remaining 15 are foreigners from Pakistan, Chechen and Arab countries.

Five motorbikes, arms and ammunitions were also seized by the security forces from militants during the operations, the official contended.

However, he did not say if there were any casualties on the security forces.

Andar district believed to be a stronghold of Taliban militants in the southern Ghazni province was also the scene of conflict between Taliban militants and some villagers on Monday which left six fighters dead, according to locals.

"The clash took place in Alam Khan and Khani Baba villages of Andar district Monday morning as a result six Taliban fighters were killed," Faizanullah Faizan who leads the anti-Taliban villagers told Xinhua.

There were no casualties on the villagers, he contended.

In a related incident, six Taliban militants were killed as clash erupted in Kajaki district of Helmand province 555 km south of capital city Kabul on Monday, provincial police spokesman Farid Ahmad Farhang said Tuesday.

"Taliban militants stormed a police checkpoint in Kajaki district on Monday afternoon and police retaliated by killing six rebels and injuring six others," Farhang told Xinhua.

Two police constables sustained injuries in the clash, he admitted.

Moreover, Afghan Interior Ministry in a statement released here Tuesday claimed to have killed four Taliban fighters in the militancy-battered country during series of operations over the past 24 hours.

"In the operations backed by the national army and the NATO-led troops and conducted in Kunduz, Wardak, Ghazni, Herat and Farah provinces over the past 24 hours, four armed Taliban rebels were killed, another injured and four others made captive," the press release contended.

Meanwhile, Taliban militants in a counter-claim rebuffed the government's assertion.

Qari Yusuf Ahmadi who claims to speak for the Taliban outfit in talks with media via telephone from unknown location claimed killing over a dozen soldiers over the past two days, saying only in Panjwai district of Kandahar province three foreign soldiers were killed as roadside bomb struck a tank Tuesday, a claim rejected by officials as mere baseless propaganda.



It is difficult to get confirmation from independent sources in Afghanistan as warring sides often exaggerate the casualties of rivals suffered in battle.