At least nine civilians including children were killed or wounded in separate Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosions in southeastern Ghazni and Paktika provinces.
The 203rd Thunder Corps of the Afghan Military in the Southeast in a statement said at least three children lost their lives in an explosion triggered by an IED planted by the Taliban militants in Orgun district of Paktia province.
The statement further added that another IED planted by the militants in Moqor district of Ghazni province went off targeting a civilian vehicle which left one civilian dead and five others wounded.
The Taliban militants and other militants often use improvised explosive device as the weapon of their choice to target the security forces and government officials.
However, in majority of such attacks the ordinary civilians are killed while in some cases the Taliban militants are themselves blown up in premature explosions.
Anti-government elements must immediately end the indiscriminate and disproportionate use of all improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in areas frequented by civilians, said UNAMA in a special human rights report released few days earlier.
The special report – titled “Increasing Harm to Afghan Civilians form the Deliberate and Indiscriminate Use of Improvised Explosive Devices” – documents a sharp increase from 1 January – 30 September 2018 in the killing and maiming of Afghan civilians by IEDs, which have caused almost half of the civilian casualties from conflict-related violence.
