KABUL: 10 Taliban have been killed and six others injured in a joint operation carried out by security forces in Helmand province of Afghanistan.

Provincial police spokesman Mohammad Zaman Hamdard said the joint security forces also recovered and defused 20 landmines and destroyed 38 military facilities of the militants during the sweep up, with no security personnel killed or wounded.

The United States has urged Afghan government and Taliban to come together and make progress on the terms laid out in the peace deal.

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This was stated by US Defense Secretary Mark Esper during a news conference in Washington.

He said, the peace deal signed earlier this year for reduction in violence was under strain by a political deadlock and increasing Taliban violence.

The Taliban have mounted more than 4,500 attacks in Afghanistan in the 45 days since signing a peace agreement with the United States.

On May 7 in Afghanistan, 15 Taliban militants including a key commander, Mullah Yaqub were killed after military planes struck their gathering in Kushindi district of Balkh province.