Air raids destroy militants' base in Afghanistan

MAIMANA, Aug 29 (Xinhua): Fighting planes struck a Taliban gathering inside their base in Qargan area of Afghanistan's northern Faryab province on Friday, destroying the base and killing 12 militants on the spot, army spokesman in the northern region Mohammad Hanif Rezai said Saturday.

Acting on a tip-off, the fighting aircraft stormed the Taliban gathering inside their base on Friday afternoon smashing the base and besides killing 12 insurgents also foiled their designs to attack security checkpoints.

The militants, according to the official, were planning to storm security checkpoints in the area, but fled away after suffering casualties.

Taliban outfit has yet to make comments.

At least 44 militants have been killed in northern Afghanistan's Kunduz province over the past couple of days as security forces stepped up operations in the area, said an army statement released on Saturday.