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1st LD Writethru: 5 civilians killed in northern Afghan shelling: police

Xinhua, March 30, 2017 Adjust font size:

Five civilians were killed and three others wounded overnight as a result of Taliban militants' shelling in the northern province of Takhar, police said Thursday.

"The insurgents fired several rounds of mortar shell on security checkpoints in Lalah Guzar locality, Khwaja Bahawuddin district last night," Mahfozullah Akbari, police spokesman of the 808 Spin Zaar Police Zone based in the region, told Xinhua.

"But the shelling struck the nearby houses and as a result, five innocent civilians were martyred and three others wounded," he said.

Among the victims were women and children, Akbari said, adding that the injured were shifted to a district hospital, but they did not suffer life-threatening injuries.

The Takhar province, as well as neighboring Baghlan and Kunduz provinces, has been the scene of heavy clashes over the past couple of months as Taliban has been trying to challenge the government forces in the once relatively peaceful region.

More than 3,490 civilians were killed and over 7,920 others injured in conflict-related incidents across Afghanistan last year, according to figures released by the UN mission in the country. Endit