A total of 30 Taliban insurgents were killed in six joint cleanup operations carried out by Afghan forces and NATO-led coalition troops within the past 24 hours, the country's Interior Ministry said on Tuesday morning.

"Afghan police, army, NDS or intelligence agency and coalition forces launched six cleanup operations in Baghlan, Kandahar, Zabul, Logar and Ghazni provinces, killing 30 armed Taliban insurgents over the past 24 hours," the ministry said in a statement.

They also found and seized weapons, the statement said, without saying if there were any casualties on the side of security forces.

Afghan police also found and defused 11 mines and roadside bombs besides defusing an explosive-laden motorbike over the same period of time, the statement added.

The Taliban insurgent group, which announced the launching of a spring offensive from May 3 against Afghan and NATO forces, has not to make comments yet.

Afghan forces and NATO-led coalition troops have intensified cleanup operations against insurgents across the country recently. Over 1,050 insurgents have been killed and more than 1,700 others detained in the country so far this year, according to the figures released by the Interior Ministry.

However, the insurgents in retaliation responded by carrying out suicide attacks and roadside bombings.

Earlier Tuesday, five civilians were killed and two others seriously injured when a minibus ran over a roadside bomb in eastern Wardak province, according to a statement by provincial government. The minibus, with 11 passengers, was travelling from eastern Ghazni province to capital Kabul and four other passengers did not injure in the explosion which occurred at around 7:30 local time.

Earlier a provincial official, citing initial information, told Xinhua that 10 civilians were killed and another injured in the explosion.

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