By DPA
Kabul : Twelve Taliban militants were killed in a firefight in Wardak province, the Defence Ministry said Tuesday in a statement.
The army operation was carried out Monday after receiving information about the presence of Taliban militants in Jalrez district of Wardak province in central Afghanistan.
Twelve insurgents were killed when the army engaged them in a firefight but the military side suffered no casualties, the statement said.
Wardak, a neighbouring province of the capital, Kabul, has seen a series of clashes pitting Afghan and international forces against Taliban militants, who are most entrenched in southern and eastern provinces of the country.
In a separate incident, US-led coalition forces arrested five suspected militants Monday night in the southern province of Kandahar, the US military said in a statement.
Intelligence sources indicated several militants were preparing to leave for an unknown location and coalition forces were dispatched to intercept them before they left the area, the statement said.
More than 5,300 people, mostly Taliban fighters, have been killed in violence in the country this year.