ASADABAD - More than 100 Taliban insurgents were killed in a joint operation by Afghan and foreign troops in the Wata Pur district of eastern Kunar province, the governor said on Saturday.
Launched last week, the clearing offensive that concluded late on Friday night targeted militants in the district's Katar, Gambir and Sanga areas, Syed Fazullah Wahidi, told a news conference in Asadabad, the provincial capital.

He said they had reports that 103 militants were killed in the operation that resulted in the capture of a huge quantity of light and heavy weapons used by insurgents. The dead included Pakistani and Arab nationals, he said.

The governor claimed the areas had been cleared of militants, with the displaced families returning to their previous homes.
Wahidi also said that two Afghan army soldiers were killed and as many others were injured in clashes with the Taliban fighters. However, he had no information if foreign troops suffered any causalities.
ISAF's media office in the east said in a statement that the operation was wound up last night. It also said some foreign troops had suffered casualties, but did not provide any figures.
A NATO helicopter had made a hard landing during the operation due to technical errors, the force said, brushing aside the Taliban's claim that they had shot down the copter.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, told Pajhwok Afghan News over the telephone that only 19 fighters lost their lives in clashes with security forces in the Wata Pur district. Another 10 fighters sustained injuries, he said.
Mujahid claimed more than 30 American soldiers were killed and their two aircrafts shot down. He also accused foreign troops of targeting civilian houses during airstrikes.