Afghan army kills 5 Taliban bomb-making experts: gov't

Five Taliban bomb-making experts were killed Thursday after Afghan army personnel raided a militants' hideout in the country's southern province of Helmand, the Defense Ministry said on Friday. 

"Five insurgents' Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and landmine making experts, including their commander named Aktar Mohammad, died following an army operation in surrounding areas of Nad Ali district, Helmand province," the ministry said in a statement. 

A total of 50 IEDs, five sacks of Ammonium Nitrate and IED making material were also found and sized by army. 

The security forces also detained one militant named Spin Kalai and destroyed the targeted IED making factory after the operation in the restive province, the statement said. 

The Taliban militants and other insurgent groups have been using IEDs to target security forces but the lethal weapons also inflict casualties on civilians, according to military officials. 

The Afghan government has banned use, production, storage and sale of fertilizer Ammonium Nitrate, which has been used by militants in making IEDs since 2010. 

In addition, 15 militants had been killed, nine wounded and one other was detained by Afghan security forces during separate operations in the countryside since early Thursday, the statement added.