Twenty-seven Taliban militants were killed after Afghan army's Special Forces launched an operation in the country's eastern province of Nangarhar, a Defense Ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

Gen. Dawlat Waziri said on his twitter account that the raid was launched in Pyrakhylo locality in Khogyani district Wednesday night and the Special Operation Forces also captured seven suspected militants during the raid.

Among the killed militants were a Taliban local leader named Mullah Zakir together with four other Taliban local commanders, he said, adding that a huge quantity of weapons and ammunition were also seized by the troops in the province, 120 km east of the Afghan capital of Kabul.

The Afghan security forces have beefed up security operations against militants recently, as spring and summer known as fighting season, are drawing near in the Central Asian country.

The Taliban militant group has yet to make comments.