KABUL, April 23 (Xinhua) -- At least 18 militants have been killed in separate incidents in two Afghan provinces, the country's Ministry of Defense said Tuesday.
In eastern Ghazni province, eight Taliban militants were killed and a Taliban control and command post was destroyed by an airstrike conducted by the NATO-led coalition forces in support of Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) in Qala-e-Shir village, Andar district, the ministry said in a statement.
In addition, a Haqqani militant group's famous commander named Mullah Ramadan was killed, his subordinate named Mohammad Rahim was injured and two Haqqani militants were arrested after ANDSF launched two targeted night raid operations in Ghazni's Nawa and Gelan districts Monday night, according to the statement.
The Haqqani network, which was designated as a terrorist group by the United States in 2012, is a military wing of Taliban militant group.
A coalition airstrike destroyed an ammunition depot of Taliban in Dih Yak district of the province, 125 km south of the country's capital, Kabul.
"In Chashmai Shiran, Darazjoi, Shorangi, areas of Titin Kot, capital of southern Uruzgan province, the coalition forces carried airstrikes in support of ANDSF in which nine Taliban were killed," the statement noted.
There were no casualties on the security forces and civilian sides during the raids.
The Afghan security forces have beefed up security operations against militants recently as spring and summer known as fighting season is drawing near in the country.
The Taliban militant group has not made a comment on the report yet.
