Twenty militants killed in Afghanistan

Afghan and NATO forces have killed 20 Taliban operatives in Afghanistan's central Uruzgan province, an Afghan official said Monday.

"Afghan and NATO forces conducted a joint operation in Charchino district of Uruzgan province Sunday. As a result, 20 Taliban militants were killed," police chief of Uruzgan province Mohammad Qasim told Xinhua.

Only one Afghan soldier was injured in the gun battle while there were no casualties on NATO troops, he added.

Meantime, Taliban's purported spokesman Qari Yusuf Ahmadi rejected the claim, saying 20 Afghan and foreign forces were killed in the firefight.

However, no independent sources were available to make comment on the rival sides' claims.

More than 2,400 people, mostly militants, have been killed in Afghansitan since beginning this year.

Source: Xinhua