Local officials of north-east Kapisa province said that 12 Taliban insurgents including a shadow district governor were killed and 20 others injured during an operation in the Nijrab district of the province.
The operation, codenamed "Almas 11" (Diamond 11), was launched in the past three days jointly by the Afghan National Army (ANA), Afghan National Police (ANP) and National Directorate of Security (NDS).
Six Afghan security forces were also injured during the operation, which aimed to clear Taliban insurgents form the Njirba district. No civilian casualties have been reported.
The operation is ongoing in the several parts of the district, according to Hamyoun Rashidi, Provincial Police Chief Spokesman.
The Afghan security forces have ramped up operations across the country to clear vulnerable areas of insurgents in preparation for the upcoming 2014 elections.
On Tuesday, the local officials of Kunar province on Tuesday confirmed that 35 insurgents were killed and four others injured during an operation in the Chapa Dara district of Kunar. The operation codenamed "Toffan Dara" (Storm Valley) was launched last week jointly by the Afghan National Army (ANA), Afghan National Police (ANP), and National Directorate of Security (NDS). According to officials, 10 villages have been cleared so far.
The Chapa Dara district shares its border with Nuristan province, which is considered one of the most volatile provinces in the country.
There are over 350,000 Afghan soldiers fighting the insurgents across Afghanistan. Foreign troops are due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014, after handing over full security responsibility to the Afghan forces. Though, coalition officials maintain that nearly all operational oversight has been handed over to Afghans already.