Off the wire
• S.Korean shares fall for 5 days ahead of Brexit referendum  • Tokyo stocks snap losing streak, gain on weak yen, bargains  • Chinese shares close higher Wednesday  • Japan's Democratic Party election campaign platform vows to block Abe's war moves  • China-ASEAN relationship not to be affected by South China Sea arbitration: Indonesian experts  • 20 militants killed in S. Afghanistan  • Aussie share market closes lower  • Polio virus resurfaces in India after 5 years  • Sydney's iconic Opera House set for a facelift  • Infrastructure key to improving Australian living standards  
You are here: 　 Home

Afghan army defuses 49 improvised bombs in S. provinces

Xinhua, June 15, 2016 Adjust font size:

Afghan national army had found and defused 49 improvised bombs and landmines in two southern provinces, a military statement said Wednesday.

"Engineering teams of Afghan National Army 205 Attal Corps during military operations found and defused 49 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in Shahjoy district of southern Zabul province and Dihrawud district of neighboring Uruzgan province over the past 24 hours," the statement issued by army's Corps 205 based in the region said.

"During the above raids, one terrorist named Mir Kalam was also detained," the statement noted.

The statement blamed enemies of peace, a term referring to the Taliban militants, for planting the IEDs along main roads.

The Taliban militant group has been using IEDs to target security forces but the lethal weapons also inflict casualties on civilians, according to military officials.

More than 3,540 civilians were killed and over 7,450 others injured in 2015 as the violence spreads in different places of the country, according to a report released by UN mission in Afghanistan.

Out of the casualties, 713 civilians were killed and more than 1, 650 injured by IED attacks last year, the UN report found. Enditem