KABUL, April 3 (Xinhua) -- More than 50 fighters have been killed over the past 24 hours in Afghanistan as warring sides have increased operations with the herald of spring in the conflict-battered country, officials said Wednesday.
In the latest violent incident, armed militants opened fire on police in the country's southern Kandahar city, the former stronghold of Taliban group, on Wednesday killing one police constable and injuring another, provincial government spokesman Aziz Ahmad Azizi said.
The rivalry between the government and the Taliban militants has also increased in Bala Murghab district of Afghanistan's western Badghis province as the militant group has gained ground and the government forces' fighting aircraft stormed Taliban positions since Tuesday, killing 22 insurgents and injuring 13 others, an army statement said Wednesday.
Similarly, the security forces crackdown on Taliban positions in Sholgara district of the country's northern Balkh province have left 11 insurgents dead and 15 others injured, army spokesman Mohammad Hanif Rezai said.
Government forces operations have also killed 12 Taliban fighters in northern Badakhshan province and four fighters of hardliner Islamic State outfit in eastern Nangarhar province since Tuesday.
To overcome the security challenges and check militancy, Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani approved a security plan on Tuesday to boost security across the war-battered country especially for cities and highways.
