About 83 Taliban militants have been killed in military operations and clashes across Afghanistan within the past 24 hours as security forces speed up efforts to clear the militants in restive provinces, the Afghan defense ministry said on Wednesday. "A total of 83 armed militants were killed, 116 wounded and five others detained during military operations in 11 provinces out of country's 34 provinces over the past 24 hours," the ministry said in a statement providing daily operational updates.

Some seven Afghan army personnel had also been killed during the same period, the statement confirmed.

Afghan security forces have assumed the full security charges from NATO and US forces after the NATO-led troops have switched from combat to support role since Jan. 1.

The Taliban militant group has yet to make comments.