At least 140 insurgents, 20 Afghan soldiers and five civilians have been killed in clashes between government forces and the Taliban in the northern Kunduz province.
Taliban fighters started a major offensive in Kunduz five days ago, prompting fears that Kunduz city and other areas would fall to the insurgents, who launched their annual spring offensive on Friday.
More than 2,000 families have fled the fighting, officials said.
Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said the army had succeeded in halting the Taliban advance in the province and was seeking to stop the flow of fighters from abroad.
Apart from Kunduz, 13 other military operations were under way across the country, Defence Ministry deputy spokesman Dawlat Waziri said.
"In the past 24 hours, at least 58 insurgents have been killed and 41 injured in other operations," he said.
The clashes in Kunduz, which broke out at the weekend, were the first major encounter with insurgents in northern Afghanistan since NATO ended its combat mission in December.
The Taliban on Friday announced the start of their annual spring offensive, timed to coincide with an improvement in the weather from the harsh winter months.
