Afghanistan Times
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KABUL: At least 30 civilians were killed and two others wounded by Taliban in different provinces throughout the country in the past one week.
Both Afghan military and the Taliban militants have stepped up operations in recent month after a historic peace deal between militants and the United States – which was supposed to set the ground for a reduction in hostilities.
National Security Council spokesman Javid Faisal said in a statement that the Taliban insurgents have killed at least 30 civilians and wounded two across nine provinces in the last seven days.
Majority of them were killed by improvised explosive devices planted by the Taliban insurgents on the roadsides, he said. “They need to observe a cease-fire, leave civilians unharmed to set motion for peace talks,” he urged.
This comes amid a process of releasing Taliban prisoners by the Afghan government. Hundreds of Taliban prisoners are being released and a total of 5,000 of them will be freed in a smooth process to pave the ground for intra-Afghan peace talks.
Taliban militants use landmines and IEDs to target Afghan and foreign forces, but civilians including children and women end up the victims of roadside bombs.
