Airstrikes kill 16 militants

At least 16 militants have been confirmed killed as fighting planes struck Taliban hideouts in Balkh district of the northern Balkh province on Saturday, army spokesman in the northern region Mohammad Hanif Rezai said Sunday.

The sorties targeted Taliban hideouts in parts of the restive Balkh district on Saturday afternoon, killing 16 armed militants, the official asserted.

According to the official, the security forces in cleanup operations backed by fighting planes have also cleared several villages from the militants in Balkh district over the past couple of days.

Taliban militants have not commented.

Parts of Balkh province with Mazar-i-Sharif as its capital 305 km north of Kabul has been the scene of Taliban-led insurgency over the past few years, reported Xinhua/NAN.