35 Taliban killed in Afghanistan claim Afghan govt

KABUL, Afghanistan

At least 35 Taliban have been killed throughout several provinces of Afghanistan in the last 24 hours, Afghan Ministry of Interior claimed on Wednesday.

"These insurgents have been killed in joint military operations of the Afghan security forces," a statement released by the Interior Ministry said.

Six more Taliban fighters were wounded and 19 were arrested during operations conducted in Ningrahar, Balkh, Kanadahar, Logar, Ghazni and Kunar provinces, the statement reads. 

The statement also said that a number of weapons and ammunition were confiscated during the operations by the Afghan security forces. 

The Afghan National Army forces defused twenty mines that were ready for use in attacks on Takhar, Kunduz, Kandahar, Jawzjan and Khost provinces, but the Taliban refute these claims. 

Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban told Anadolu Agency that the claim of the Afghan interior ministry is far from reality.

 "Actually the enemy is in a stage of defeat and are only making such claims to give moral support to their forces" he said.

Four more insurgents killed in Pakistan Taliban feud

Rival Taliban groups continued fighting each other Wednesday, the third day in a row, as four more insurgents were killed in the far-flung Shawal valley in the restless north Waziristan, security and local sources said.

A group of Taliban insurgents were travelling in a car when they came under heavy fire in the Shawal valley, which borders northeastern Afghanistan, a senior security official, requesting not to be named, told The Anadolu Agency.

The fresh spate of infighting began on Sunday when the two powerful Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) groups attacked each other in Shaktoi town, which borders North and South Waziristan.

The warring sides -- Shaharyar group comprising militants from Mehsud tribe, and Sajna group that consists of militants from Wazir tribe -- are locked in a centuries-old rivalry in the troubled region.

The fresh casualties come in the wake of fierce clashes, bringing the total death toll to at least 24 since Sunday. Some ten militants loyal to Shaharyar Mehsud group were gunned down in Shaktoi town on Tuesday.

The current fighting has reportedly flared up over differences over the appointment of a new TTP chief, Maulvi Fazlullah, the first non-Mehsud chief of the formidable network, and the ongoing peace process aimed at bringing a negotiated end to 11-year old insurgency in the country.

Fazlullah, a firebrand cleric from the tourist destination of Swat Valley, was elected as the new TTP chief following the killing of his predecessor Hakeemullah Mehsud in a U.S. drone strike in November 2013 in North Waziristan.

The powerful Mehsud group, the founder member of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, had wanted its man to be appointed as the new chief following the death of Mehsud. Some members of the group were also unhappy at the leadership's decision to hold talks with the government to end the insurgency that has killed thousands.

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