JALALABAD - Nearly 250 Taliban and Daesh insurgents have been killed in 17 drone strikes by foreign troops in eastern Nangarhar province in the past month, local officials said on Tuesday.

Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, Provincial Governor spokesman has said the operation was launched in Haskamina, Achin, Nazyan, Khoghyani and Sherzad districts of the province and most of the victims were "Daesh insurgents".

"According to the National Directorate of Security (NDS) in Nangarhar in the past month 17 drone operations were launched in which 150 Daesh insurgents and nearly 100 Taliban insurgents were killed," Abdulzai said.

There were no civilian casualties during the operations, he said.

Meanwhile, a number of provincial civil society activists were optimistic over the drone operation in the province and said that "this is the best way to eliminate the insurgents."

"The drone attacks are the best operations to eliminate the insurgents and we witnessed in the past month that such operations launched in other districts have resulted in a decrease in insurgent activities and it has also helped ground force operations," a civil society activist, Asadullah Delawari said.

The drone operations are in addition to a large-scale military operation that was launched in three districts of Nangarhar nine days ago to clear insurgents, said officials.

The operation was launched in Hesarak, Sherzad and Khoghyani districts of the province which borders with Pakistan. The operation was launched to clear insurgents and will continue for a month, a spokesman for the Delab 201 Military Corps in eastern Afghanistan, Noman Atifi said.

Sherzad, Haskamina, Achin, Nazyan, Khoghyani and Hesarak are the most insecure districts in the province and Taliban insurgents often target local security forces and threaten government employees, said officials. (Tolonews)