Afghan and NATO-led troops killed 19 militants in separate overnight operations in Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province, officials said on Wednesday.

The press department of NATO-led forces in southeast Afghanistan in a statement released in Khost city the capital of Paktika's neighboring Khost province on Wednesday said that the combined forces during an operation on Tuesday night eliminated eight militants in Omna district of Paktika province.

The statement also said the forces discovered several assault rifles on the ground. It also stressed that some foreign militants were among those killed during the operation but did not disclose their nationality.

In separate operation on Tuesday night, according to Paktika's provincial administration spokesman, Mukhlis Afghan, the national forces backed by NATO-led troops killed 11 Taliban militants including some Arab fighter in Sarobi district of the same province Paktika.

Taliban militants have yet to make comments.

The hard-liner militias have intensified their assaults against interest of government and NATO-led troops over the past couple of years in Afghanistan's eastern region bordering Pakistan.

Around 130,000-strong NATO-led troops are stationed in Afghanistan to help ensure peace in the post-Taliban country.

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