About 19 militants of the Islamic State (IS) group were killed and two others wounded after security forces struck their positions in eastern province of Nangarhar, local authorities said Tuesday.

In an airstrike, 12 IS militants were killed after a drone of NATO-led coalition forces fired a missile on a moving pickup vehicle in Bandar area of Achin district on Monday evening, the provincial government said in a statement.

"In addition, Afghan security forces killed seven Daesh (Arabic acronym for IS) fighters and wounded two others during an ongoing cleanup operation in Chongai area of Haska Mina district over the past 24 hours," the statement added.

Several IS bunkers have been destroyed by security forces within the past couple of days in both districts, said the statement, adding that the elimination of targeted militants would further improve security in the eastern province.

The mountainous province with Jalalabad city as its capital, 120 km east of Kabul, has been the scene of clashes between the security forces and IS militants since the emergence of the extremist group there in early 2015.

Source: Xinhua