KABUL, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Three Taliban militants, including a Taliban shadow district chief, were killed in an overnight Afghan army airstrike in northern Balkh province, the command of special forces said Friday.
"Afghan Air Force airstrike targeted an area in Chimtal district, Balkh province Thursday night. The strike killed Taliban shadow district chief Shah Mohammad Jabar and two Taliban divisional commanders, Mawlawi Qadeem and Hennayat," Afghan National Army Special Operations Corps said in a statement.
The targeted militants were planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs) along a main road, to target security forces in the district, in the western part of the province, 305 km north of the country's capital, Kabul, according to the statement.
The militants often use home-made IEDs to make roadside bombs and landmines for targeting security forces.
The Taliban militant group has not made comments on the report yet.
