40 Taliban terrorists killed in US airstrike on Helmand province

The US on Monday conducted an aerial strike on Helmand's Lashkargah city killing at least 40 Taliban terrorists, the Afghanistan Ministry of Defence informed.

The government has not confirmed the civilian causalities that occurred due to the airstrike but eight members of a family including children are said to be killed, The Khaama Press reported citing local sources.

"Air forces conducted two airstrikes at 06:10 pm and 07:05 pm on gatherings of Taliban terrorists in two parts of Lashkargah," Maiwand 215th Corps of Afghanistan said in a tweet.

Last week, five Taliban terrorists were also killed in airstrikes carried out by the US in several provinces in Afghanistan.

This comes in wake of the drawdown by foreign troops from the war-torn country.

Over the last few weeks, the Taliban have captured several districts in Afghanistan including Takhar, the country's northeastern province.The Taliban seized over 193 district centres and 19 border districts, according to the Afghan Foreign Ministry.

The Taliban have also taken control of 10 border crossing points across the country in Takhar, Kunduz, Badakhshan, Herat and Farah provinces leading to the complete shutdown of cross border movements and trade in these areas.

The ministry further disclosed that since April 14, nearly 4,000 ANDSF personnel had been killed, over 7,000 injured and about 1,600 captured by the Taliban. As many as 2,000 civilians, including women and children, were killed in the violence, while 2,200 were injured.

( With inputs from ANI )