Eight people killed and 22 injured in IED explosion in northern Afghanistan

Two civilians and six Taliban militants were killed and 22 people injured following an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion in Afghanistan’s northern province of Takhar, a provincial government spokesman confirmed on Friday.

“The explosion occurred in Chinzayee, an area on outskirts of provincial capital Taluqan roughly at 6:30 p.m. local time on Thursday,” spokesman Abdul Khalil Aser told Xinhua.

The blast occurred after a group of Taliban militants were carrying the IED before planting the device on a busy main road in the area.

Among the wounded, 10 were passing-by civilians, including children, he added.

Militants in Afghanistan have been using home-made IEDs to make roadside bombs and landmines to target security forces, but the lethal weapons also inflict casualties on civilians.

More than 800 civilians were killed and over 2,330 others wounded in IED explosions in last year.

Source: China Org