Up to six militants of the Islamic State (IS) militant group were killed and four others wounded after Afghan army personnel launched an operation in the country's eastern province of Nangarhar, a military statement said on Wednesday.

"Personnel of Afghan National Army conducted a cleanup operation in Haska Mina District, Nangarhar province on Tuesday, killing six IS militants and injuring four others," the brief statement issued by Defense Ministry said.

Nangarhar province with Jalalabad city as its capital, 120 km east of Kabul, has been the scene of clashes between security forces and IS militants.

The militant group has yet to make comments.

In neighboring Laghman province, an army engineering team found and defused an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) on Tuesday, and foiled a possible terrorist attack, an army official Shir Aqa Faqiri told Xinhua earlier on the day.

source: Xinhua