40 Taliban insurgents killed in Afghanistan

About 40 Taliban insurgents were killed and 30 others detained in military operations within the past 24 hour in different Afghan provinces, the country's Interior Ministry said Sunday morning. "Afghan police, army and the NATO-led coalition forces have conducted seven cleanup operations in Kunar, Laghman, Takhar, Kandahar, Uruzgan, Logar and Ghazni provinces over the past 24 hours, killing 40 armed Taliban insurgents and detaining 30 others, " the ministry said in a statement. They also found and seized weapons, the statement said, without saying if there were any casualties on the side of security forces. Three more Taliban insurgent were injured, the statement added. However, the Taliban insurgent group, which announced the launching of an annual spring offensive from May 3 against Afghan and NATO forces, has yet to make comments. Records kept by Xinhua, based on figures released by Afghan Interior Ministry, reveal that more than 250 insurgents have been killed, 43 wounded and nearly 90 others detained since Aug. 1 this year during military operations across the insurgency-hit country.