Afghan forces kill 27 Taliban insurgents

KABUL, Afghanistan

Afghan security forces said Saturday at least 27 Taliban insurgents were killed in the northern Badakhshan province bordering Tajikistan.

The Defense Ministry said in a statement that the insurgents were killed in air and ground offensives in Warduj and Nusay districts last evening.

It said nine insurgents also got injured in operations aimed at thwarting the Taliban's plans to storm these two districts.

"No civilians have been harmed in these operations," Rouhullah Ahmadzai, a Defense Ministry spokesman, said.

Meanwhile, the Taliban have condemned these operations as "war crimes".

"Dozens of civilian homes have been demolished, many gardens and farms have been destroyed and heavy corporeal and financial losses inflicted on innocent villagers," Zabiullah Mujahed, the group's spokesman, said in a statement.

Separately, the Taliban have urged the U.S. to stop attacks in areas that are "non-combat areas" in Afghanistan.

Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban's Qatar office spokesman, said their delegation met in Doha with Gen. Scott Miller, top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and his delegation on Friday evening and discussed in details implementation of the agreement as well as its violations.

The Afghan government this week released 200 Taliban prisoners based on a presidential decree even after the insurgents pulled their technical team out of talks on this thorny issue.

This came as the prison swap, a stepping stone for the proposed intra-Afghan peace talks, remains in limbo with the insurgents threatening to scale up attacks.

Afghan officials blame Taliban insurgents for insisting upon release of at least 15 notorious terrorists convicted for large scale attacks.