Local officials in Kunar said on Friday that at least 20 militants were killed in a military operation in Shegal district in the province.

Kunar governor’s spokesman Abdulghani Musammim told TOLOnews that those who were killed in the operation were Taliban fighters, including five foreign militants. 

He rejected the reports which say those killed in the operation were civilians but said that at least 15 civilians were wounded in the clash between government forces and the Taliban which according to him continued for few hours on Thursday. 

He said the Afghan forces targeted a Taliban hideout from air and ground during this operation in Shegal district.

Musammim said that children and women were among those wounded in the clashes and that they were taken to the central hospital in the province.

Taliban has claimed that all those killed in the operation were civilians.

This comes as reports indicate that dozens of civilians have lost their lives in Afghan and foreign forces operations in the past two months. 

On December 2, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) confirmed that at least 23 civilians were killed and three others were wounded in an airstrike in Garmsir district in Helmand province conducted by pro-government forces against Taliban in the area.