Afghan security forces step up operations as 16 killed in fighting
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-22 15:31

Afghan security forces have been ordered to step up operations against militants amid an unprecedented spate of suicide attacks and fighting that has killed 14 insurgents and 2 soldiers in the last month, the Defense Ministry said Sunday.

Eighteen suspected militants have been captured during the clashes, while seven soldiers have also been wounded in fighting in various parts of Afghanistan, Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammed Zahir Azimi told reporters.

The Afghan army has been ordered to set up new checkpoints and increase its patrols to improve security, he said.

"The Defense Ministry has ordered the army ... to increase its operations to improve security," Azimi said without elaborating.

The move comes after some 1,600 people were killed in fighting last year, the most since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban in 2001. There has been a spate of 20 suicide attacks since late September, compared with four in the first nine months of 2005, representing a new and disturbing threat.