Thirteen Taliban militants were killed, five Coalition forces were injured Sunday in an offensive operation carried out by Afghan and Coalition forces in Afghan southern province of Kandahar, US military said Wednesday.

"Thirteen enemy fighters were killed on Dec. 4 as Afghan and Coalition forces conducted operations targeting the enemy cell in a small village north of Kandahar. Three Afghan, three US and two other Coalition soldiers were wounded in the fighting," US military said in a news release.

"One Coalition soldier was seriously wounded and has been evacuated to Germany, where he is in stable condition. The remaining seven soldiers have since been treated and released," it added.

"This is a resounding victory for Afghan forces and for the Afghan people," said Brig. Gen. Jack Sterling Jr., Combined Joint Task Force 76 deputy commanding general.

Afghan and Coalition forces carried out a series of offensive operations in southern Afghanistan these days.

Nine Taliban were killed, six were arrested Tuesday in an offensive operation carried out by Coalition and Afghan forces in the southern Uruzgan province. One police was also killed in the operation.

Kandahar, together with Uruzgan, Zabul and Helmand, the former stronghold of Taliban regime, has become the hotspot of militancy since the beginning of this year.

More than 1,500 people, with the majority of them Taliban, have been killed in Taliban-linked militancy this year.

Source: Xinhua