Afghan special forces liberated 41 captives from a Taliban prison in the western province of Herat, the Afghan Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday.

According to the statement, the Afghan forces conducted the operation late on Monday, liberating 19 servicemen among the prisoners. The operation eliminated seven Taliban militants and destroyed some of the Islamist movement's weaponry.

Afghanistan is still witnessing hostilities between the government forces and the Taliban, whose militia groups control large rural territories in the Central Asian country. In February 2020, the United States and the Taliban signed the first peace agreement in 18 years that envisions the foreign troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and the launch of the intra-Afghan dialogue in a bid to put an end to the armed conflict, IBNS said. 

In April, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance will start the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan on May 1. US President Joe Biden wants the troops out of the restive country by September 11, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.