At least 18 Taliban militants were killed in military operations in Afghanistan over past 24-hours, the country's interior ministry said on Saturday."In the past 24 hours, Afghanistan National Security Forces conducted anti-terrorism operations in many provinces. As a result 18 armed insurgents were killed, five were injured and one was arrested," Xinhua quoted the ministry as saying in a statement providing daily operational updates.Earlier on Saturday, the country's defence ministry confirmed losing seven army personnel as a result of separate attacks across the country since early Friday.The Taliban group has yet to make comments.Afghan security forces have pressed on clearing the militants in restive provinces as Taliban militants have been attempting to take territory and consolidate their positions ahead of winter in the country.