"Afghan troops backed by aircrafts launched series of operations in different provinces over the past 24 hours, as a result, 77 militants including 17 ISIL fighters have been killed, 27 injured and seven others arrested," the statement said.
The operations that covered parts of Nangarhar, Kunar, Nuristan, Kapisa, Paktika, Khost, Logar, Kandahar, Zabul, Oruzgan, Kunduz, Faryab, Takhar and Helmand provinces during which weapon caches have also been discovered.
Similarly, Taliban militants attacked an Afghan army checkpoint in Ab Kamary district of the western Badghis province early Saturday and captured eight soldiers, provincial governor Mohammad Anwar Eshaqzai confirmed.
XINHUA/MNA