At least 14 militants killed in separate incidents in Afghanistan

AVA- In one incident, five militants were killed and three others wounded after they stormed security checkpoints in Qush Tepa district of northern Jawzjan province Sunday night, the provincial government spokesman Faridoon Aniq told media.
Three security forces were also wounded during the clashes in the remote district in southwestern of the provincial capital, Shiberghan city, the spokesman added.
Elsewhere, nine militants were killed following separate Afghan Special Forces-led airstrikes on outskirts of Qalat, capital of southern province of Zabul and Musa Qala and Kajaki districts of neighboring Helmand province on Sunday, the command of special forces said in a statement earlier in the day.
The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces remain in control of most of Afghanistan's population centers and all of 34 provincial capitals, but Taliban insurgents control large portions of rural areas, staging coordinated large-scale attacks against Afghan cities and districts since early last year.