(VOVworld) – At least 22 Taliban militants were killed in a fierce fight in Baghlan, a northern province of Afghanistan, over the last 24 hours.

Afghanistan security forces at the site of explosion carried out by Taliban (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)

Military spokesman of Baghlan province Ahmad Jawed Salim said on Sunday that the Afghan government launched a major offensive in mid-January to evict militants and restore control in both Dand-e-Ghori and Dand-e-Shahabudin districts, which have been Taliban hotbeds in Baghlan. The same day, governor of Faryab province Sayyed Anwar Saadat said that about 130 Taliban rebels renounced violence and surrendered to the local government. According to Afghan officials, more than 10,000 Taliban militants have laid down their weapons and joined the government-backed peace and reconciliation process in the past six years.