1st LD Writethru: 13 civilians injured in E. Afghan rocket attack

Thirteen civilians were injured after militants fired a rocket towards a village in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar, on Thursday morning, the provincial government confirmed.

"The rocket fired by militants struck a location in Torghar, an area in Bati Kot district this morning, resulting 13 civilians wounded," it said in a statement.

Among the injured were five children and two women, the statement said, adding that the wounded were shifted by the security forces to a main hospital in provincial capital Jalalabad city, 120 km east of the country's capital of Kabul.

Provincial Governor Mohammad Gulab Mangal instructed the health officials to provide best medical treatment for the victims and ordered the security forces to find and arrest the culprits behind the attack, the statement noted.

More than 2,560 civilians were killed and over 5,830 injured in the first nine months of the year in conflict-related incidents across Afghanistan, according to the latest figures released by UN mission in the country.

Ground engagements remained the largest cause of civilian casualties, followed by suicide attacks and improvised explosive device (IED) explosions. Endit