At least 33 militants were killed and 16 others were wounded during the clearance operations conducted jointly by the Afghan national security forces.

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the militants were killed or wounded in the past 24 hours in various provinces of the country.

A statement by MoD said at least 21 of the militants were killed during the operations in Gilan and Andar districts of Ghazni and Bakwa district of Farah province.

The statement further added that 10 militants were also wounded during the same operations, while 9 militants were killed and 3 others were wounded during a separate operation in Sangin district of Helmand and Achin and Kot districts of Nangarhar province.

At least 3 militants were killed and 3 others were detained during operations in Ghorian district of Herat and Gomal district of Paktika province, MoD added.

The anti-government armed militant groups have not commented regarding the report so far.

The Afghan national security forces have stepped up counter-terrorism operations amid deteriorating security situation across the country as the anti-government armed militant groups have increased to their insurgency activities during the recent months.