BOGOTA, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Colombia's Ministry of Defense said Wednesday the armed forces killed 13 leftist rebels and captured eight in two separate operations.

Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon said the first operation took place between the towns of Tame and Fortul, in the northwest department of Arauca, when a military task force clashed with members of the National Liberation Army (ELN), killing eight rebels.

Pinzon said via Twitter that another eight rebels were captured in Tame and Fortul, located some 335 km northeast of the capital Bogota.

In a second operation, five rebels belonging to the 27th Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) insurgency were killed in the central department of Meta, the ministry said.

Colombia's military and police forces are battling leftist rebels "at all times," said Pinzon, "striking decisive blows against terrorist and criminal groups" targeting the country's infrastructure.

The government of President Juan Manuel Santos continues its offensive against the rebels even as it holds peace talks with the FARC, since November 2012, to end five decades of fighting.