The local officials of Kunar province on Tuesday confirmed that 35 insurgents were killed and four others injured during an operation in the Chapa Dara district of Kunar. The operation codenamed "Toffan Dara" (Storm Valley) was launched last week jointly by the Afghan National Army (ANA), Afghan National Police (ANP), and National Directorate of Security (NDS).
According to reports, two civilians were killed and two others injured during the operation.
Kunar officials said NATO carried out an air strike on the Afghan National Security Forces' (ANSF) request, in which four insurgents and an ANSF soldier were killed. The air strike was carried out after the Taliban insurgents attacked a convoy of the ANSF in the Kelimo area of Chapa Dara district. The insurgents started a gun-battle with the forces, which lasted for over two hours.
"The clashes continued for over two hours and the ANSF called NATO for air support," said Mohammad Haroon Yousufzai, the head of the Military Media Office in eastern Afghanistan.
Mr. Yousufzai said that the ANSF has set-up check-posts in the areas that have been cleared of insurgents. According to Mr. Yousufzai, 10 villages have been cleared so far.
The Chapa Dara district shares its border with Nuristan province, which is considered one of the most volatile provinces in the country.
The Taliban claimed that several ANSF soldiers were killed in the Tuesday clash on Tuesday, though did not acknowledge any casualties of their won.
The Afghan security forces have ramped up operations across the country to clear vulnerable areas of insurgents in preparation for the upcoming 2014 elections.
There are over 350,000 Afghan soldiers fighting the insurgents across Afghanistan. Foreign troops are due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014, after handing over full security responsibility to the Afghan forces. Though, coalition officials maintain that nearly all operational oversight has been handed over to Afghans already.