KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Five Afghan civilians were killed and eight others wounded after mortars struck two houses in Afghanistan's restive northern province of Kunduz early Wednesday, a local source told Xinhua.
"The incident occurred roughly at 3:00 a.m. local time, when two mortar shells landed on two houses in Talowka, an area on outskirts of provincial capital Kunduz city," Mohammad Ashraf from local council told Xinhua.
He said several women and children were affected. The wounded civilians were taken to a hospital in Kunduz city, with no report about their health situation.
In the meantime, Esmatullah Muradi, local government spokesman, told Xinhua that the provincial police have launched an investigation into the case.
Local villagers blamed Taliban militants for the incident. The militant group has not made comments so far.
The Afghan civilians continue to bear the brunt of armed conflicts as more than 2,110 civilians were killed and over 3,820 others wounded due to fighting in the country in the first nine months of 2020, according to figures of United Nations Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
The UNAMA has attributed 59 percent of civilian casualties to the Taliban and other insurgent groups, 27 percent to pro-government security forces over the period while the rest 14 percent were caused by other reasons. Enditem
