Airstrikes coordinated by U.S. special forces and Afghan troops against militants in western Afghanistan killed 15 insurgents and freed 15 hostages Thursday, officials said.

Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, a Defense Ministry spokesman, said two Taliban commanders were among those killed in the operation in the western province of Herat, the Associated Press reported.

Afghanistan's central government has worked to improve its legal system for years, but tribal justice traditions, especially in rural areas, and corruption from within are proving to be significant hurdles.

The governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan are confronted with a rise in insurgent attacks along their countries' borders. Two experts discuss the growing violence in the region.

In the fall of 2007, writer Elizabeth Rubin and photographer Lynsey Addario shadowed U.S. Forces in Korengal Valley, Afghanistan -- an area along the Pakistani border known for its insurgency.