TIRIN KOT, Afghanistan, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- A total of 20 militants have been confirmed dead as security forces launched cleanup operations in Charchino district of the southern Uruzgan province on Tuesday, said an army spokesman Abdul Ghafar Nuristani on Wednesday.

The operations, according to the official, launched on Tuesday night in parts of Charchino district and so far 20 armed militants had been killed and several others injured.

According to Nuristani, the operations would last until law and order return to the restive district. The Taliban militants are yet to comment on the situation.