At least 60 Taliban insurgents have been killed in Afghan raids over the Nowruz holiday in north-eastern Badakhshan province, local officials said.
Military operations were launched over the last two days in the province's Warduj district with the security forces calling for air support, provincial spokesman Abdul Maroof Rasikh said.
The Taliban has denied the high number of casualties.
The operation comes two weeks after 16 Afghan policemen and soldiers were ambushed and killed in a Taliban attack.
The ground operation by the Afghan army, police and intelligence personnel is still in progress, according to Rasikh, who said the dead included some Taliban commanders.
However, he did not name the militant leaders killed.
Warduj is in the north-east of Badakhshan, close to the border of Tajikistan and the Wakhan corridor. There are areas with a strong insurgent presence where local Afghan security forces are frequently targeted.