1st LD Writethru: 7 civilians killed in Taliban attack in eastern Afghanistan

JALALABAD, Afghanistan, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Seven civilians, including two women and three children, were killed when Taliban struck their vehicle with a rocket in eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, the provincial government said on Monday.

Two people were also wounded in the attack which occurred at around 8:30 p.m. local time Sunday in Nabi Khil locality of Bati Kot district, the local government said in a statement, adding one of the injured remained in critical condition.

The motive behind the attack remained unknown and the Taliban has yet to make comments on the report.

Provincial Governor Mohammad Gulab Mangal strongly condemned the attack, ordering the security forces to bring the perpetrators to justice in the province, 120 km east of Kabul.

More than 3,430 civilians were killed and over 7,000 others injured in conflict-related incidents in 2017, according to figures released by the United Nations mission in the country.

The mission has attributed 65 percent of the civilian casualties to the Taliban and other insurgent groups, 20 percent to security forces over the period while 11 percent were attributed to both sides during clashes and the remaining 4 percent were caused by other reasons. Enditem