Afghanistan- 30 militants killed in Baghlan

KABUL: At least 30 militants have been killed as Taliban offensive to overrun Burka district in northern Afghanistan's Baghlan province was repulsed on Friday, Xinhua news agency reported, quoting provincial government spokesman Mahmoud Haqmal.

A group of Taliban insurgents, according to the official, launched a multi-pronged offensive at 1am local time to overrun Burka district, but the security forces returned fire, killing 30 insurgents on the spot and injuring 10 others.

The official also noted that the dead and the injured included more than a dozen security personnel. Haqmal said that cleanup operation is going on in the area.

In the meantime, a member of the provincial council, Bismillah Atash, has confirmed that seven security personnel had been killed and four others injured. Taliban militants haven't commented yet.

This comes as President Ashraf Ghani addressed the closing ceremony of the Grand Consultative Jirga on Peace on Friday said that Afghan government is ready to implement all recommendations mentioned in the Peace Jirga's resolution. He said the Afghan government is ready to announce a ceasefire if the Taliban show readiness in this regard.

'I am ready to implement your (the Peace Jirga delegates') legitimate demand which is ceasefire. I see the courage and power in the National Defense and Security Forces lines to implement the discipline of a ceasefire. If the Taliban is ready for a ceasefire in a way, we can work on technical details of it,' he explained.

But the Taliban rejected call for ceasefire, and also mocked Consultative Loya Jirga for Peace, terming it symbolic and failure.

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