3 militants killed in peaceful northeastern Afghan province

An Afghan hospital worker takes a weapon out of a car that belonged to a Taliban militant whose body is seen in a car after he was killed in Ghazni province May 24, 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Three Taliban militants were killed as police launched a cleanup and search operation in Baharak district of Afghanistan's northeastern relatively peaceful Badakhshan province, an official said Monday.

"A cleanup operation on Sunday afternoon was launched in Baharak district to clear the area of militants but during the gunfights three militants were killed and others made captive," Shamsul Rahman Shams, deputy to provincial governor, told Xinhua.

He stressed that two policemen were also injured in the operation.

Taliban militants, who were removed from power in a U.S.-led international military campaign in late 2001, have yet to make comments.

The hardliner Taliban fighters have vowed to intensify their activities against government interest this year in the militancy- hit country.

The relatively peaceful Badakhshan province has been the scene of Taliban-led militancy and violent attacks over the past month as a roadside bomb targeted a police van in Daraim district of Badakhshan left six policemen dead and two others injured on Sunday.

Source: Xinhua