Najib Danish, Afghan interior ministry spokesman, said on Thursday that government forces would use all means to remove hurdles to peace and stability. 

AVA- An unnamed senior security official said the current campaign is part of a strategy to apply heavier battlefield pressure on the Taliban. 

"The war-hardened Taliban field commanders are the biggest obstacle to peace efforts because they believe they are winning militarily," media outlets quoted the official as saying.  

"The plan was designed to eliminate them and pave the way for future talks," he added.

US military commanders have pressed Afghan government forces to go on the attack to strengthen their hand in any talks. 

 "We've realigned support and precision lethal assets to precisely target the Taliban more often and more effectively to set conditions for the negotiated settlement," said Colonel David Butler, spokesman for US forces in Afghanistan. 

"We don't consider the death of these leaders decisive, unfortunately many more will die until the Taliban decide to stop fighting. The only lasting solution will be a political settlement," he said. 

Senior commanders have been targeted regularly in recent weeks. 

Abdul Manan, the shadow Taliban governor of the southern province of Helmand and the militants’ top commander in the south, was killed in a joint operation by US and Afghan Special Forces on Dec. 2.  

Two days later, the Taliban shadow governor of central Ghor province was killed while on a visit to Helmand and on Saturday, the shadow governor of Paktika was killed in a raid by Afghan Special Forces on the border with Pakistan.

As air and ground operations have surged in recent weeks, so has the risk of civilian casualties. But Afghan security officials say despite the danger, the local commanders remain high priority targets. 

The Taliban, whose fighters briefly overran the central city of Ghazni in August, have steadily increased territorial gains in recent months. 

Meanwhile, the Kabul government has stepped up efforts to convince the Taliban to end the 17-year militancy amid Washington’s failures on the battleground.

Contacts have already started between US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban representatives to build a favorable position in advance of any talks. 

At the request of the US, a Taliban office was established in Doha in 2013 to facilitate peace talks. In recent months, Taliban representatives and Khalilzad have discussed their conditions to end the war in Afghanistan.

US forces have been bogged down in Afghanistan through the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama and now Donald Trump, with militants now launching attacks on both Pakistan and Afghanistan.