Afghanistan: Mine blast in Baghlan kills 8 civilians including 4 kids

A mine blast on the roadside of the northern Baghlan province in Afghanistan killed eight people including four children. The police officials said that the blast which took place on November 4 had taken lives of four children, while two women, two men, and six other civilians were injured. Soon after the blast, the victims were taken to a local hospital. However, no group has claimed the responsibility of the bombing so far. 

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5 killed in blast on Saturday

A similar blast took place in an area controlled by the Taliban in Takhar province on November 2. The incident claimed the lives of five school children on the roadside. Two other bomb blasts took place in Nangarhar province last month which also killed 62 people and wounded at least 33 people. The suicide blasts took place inside a mosque during the Friday prayer around 2 pm in the Jaw Dara area of the Haska Meyna district of the country. The death toll of the blasts has spiked with Afghanistan currently witnessing the deadliest months for civilians. 

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Civilian casualties have spiked

An Afghan news agency reported that according to a United Nations Assistance Mission report, in just the first nine months of 2019, the organization has documented the death of 2,563 civilians along with 5,676 wounded people which is fairly similar to the count of 2018 however, in the third quarter of this year, there was an unusual spike in civilian casualties with 1,174 deaths and injury of 3,139 which according to the UNAMA, it is the highest number of deaths since it started documentation in 2009. 

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There is a 42 percent increase from that of the previous year. In addition to that, the month of July has witnessed the highest number of casualties that have ever been recorded in a single month. According to the UNAMA report, the reason for the increase in a number of victims is because of aerial and search operations that have been taken by the pro-government forces along with insurgent groups. 41 percent of all the casualties that have occurred in this month are women and children.

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(With ANI inputs)