Afghan and NATO-led troops killed at least 15 Taliban insurgents during operation in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province Friday night, the military alliance said Saturday, Xinhua reported.
"Afghan and coalition security forces killed more than 15 armed insurgents during an operation in Sherzad district, Nangarhar province last night," the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement released here.
The statement said that joint forces were searching for a senior Taliban leader and foreign fighter facilitator who also raises funds for the Taliban and plans attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.
"As security forces approached the targeted compound, the security forces came under immediate machine gun and small arms fire by numerous insurgents as they fled that area," the statement added.
It said combined forces returned fire killing numerous insurgents.
The statement said a militant was also detained during the raid, adding "the security force is still gathering information to determine if the targeted individual was among the insurgents".
No civilians, Afghan or coalition forces were harmed during the operation, the statement said.
However, Taliban militants have yet to make comments.
Nangarhar province has been the scene of Taliban-led militancy over the past couple of years.