15 December 2013 9:22 am 23 Taliban Rebels Killed, 5 Injured in Operations KABUL: (MEP) – At least twenty three Taliban rebels were killed and five others were injured during a series of coordinated operations over the past 24 hours carried out by the Afghan National Army (ANA), Afghan National Police (ANP) and National Directorate of Security (NDS), the Afghan Ministry of Interior said in a statement on Sunday. Twenty one other insurgents were arrested during the operations. “In past 24 hours, Afghan National Police conducted several anti-terrorism joint operations with Afghan National Army and NDS to clean some of the areas from terrorists and enemies of peace and stability of Afghanistan,” read the statement. The operations were conducted in Kunar, Nangarhar, Laghman, Jowzjan, Ghazni, Khost and Helmand provinces. The ANP reportedly confiscated light and heavy rounds of ammunition and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) as well. “During the same 24 hour period, Afghan National Police discovered and defused two different types of IEDs placed by enemies of Afghanistan for destructive activities in Faryab province,” the statement added, tolo news reported. The statement did not report any casualties amongst the Afghan forces or local civilian populations. There are over 350,000 Afghan soldiers serving at the moment. Foreign troops are due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014, after handing over full security responsibility to the Afghan forces.