Kabul: Afghan military forces released thirteen civilians and one policeman from a Taliban prison in the southern Afghan province of Helmand, the Afghan defense ministry said on Thursday, the ministry wrote on its Twitter account.

The ministry added that the Afghan national army killed seven Taliban militants who planned to blow up a car bomb among civilians in the northern province of Faryab.

Afghanistan is still plagued by long-lasting violence that claims the lives of Afghan civilians and security personnel, despite the ongoing intra-Afghan peace negotiations that began in the Qatari capital of Doha on September 12.

In early December, Kabul and the Taliban took a three-week break in their talks for consultations on a negotiation framework. The sides resumed negotiations on January 6 in Qatar's capital Doha. However, the resumption of talks has so far failed to improve the security situation in Afghanistan.

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