About 27 Taliban militants have been killed during cleanup operations across Afghanistan as security forces continue to press the militants ahead of foreign forces withdrawal by the end of the year, said the Interior Ministry on Tuesday.

"Within the past 24 hours, Afghan army, police and intelligence agency carried out several cleanup operations in Kunar, Kunduz, Badakhshan, Balkh, Zabul and Helmand provinces. A total of 27 armed Taliban were killed, 21 wounded and six other militants were captured," the military said in a statement.

They also found and seized weapons, the statement said.

The statement did not disclose if there were any casualties on the side of security forces.

The Taliban insurgent group has yet to make comments.

More than 51,000 NATO-led coalition troops, down from the peak of 130,000 in 2010, are stationed in Afghanistan, and the United States plans to trim its forces to less than 10,000 next year.

The war-torn country is due to take over the responsibility for its own security from foreign troops by the end of the year.

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