MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Five Taliban (outlawed in Russia) militants, including one commander, were killed and three others injured on Wednesday during an operation by security forces in central Afghanistan's Maidan Wardak province, local media reported Thursday citing local officials.
The operation happened in the village of Markhana, located in the Nerkh district, after Taliban insurgents attempted to attack security checkpoints, a spokesman for the provincial police chief Najib Amin said, as quoted by TOLOnews media outlet.
The operation took place a day after the blast at the entry of the Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, for which the Taliban has reportedly claimed responsibility, allegedly in retaliation for a NATO leaflet which offended Afghan Muslims. The attack was carried out by a suicide bomber.
The leaflet distributed by US forces in Parwan province, north of Kabul, showed a white dog with a part of the Taliban's banner superimposed on its side running from the lion. The banner contained a passage from the Quran in Arabic. It has prompted anger across Muslims in the country.
On August 22, the Taliban announced it would continue jihad in reposne to US President Donald Trump's decision to send more troops to Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is in a state of political and social turmoil, with government forces fighting the continuing Taliban insurgency. The instability has persisted in the country since the 2001 US-led invasion to defeat the Taliban and al-Qaeda in the wake of the 9/11 attacksin the United States.
