MAIMANA, Afghanistan, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Three children and a woman were killed and one woman was injured in overnight Taliban militants' mortar shelling in Afghanistan's northern Faryab province, local police said Friday.
"Several mortar rounds fired by militants landed in areas in Qaysar district late Thursday, leaving the casualties. Security force members stationed at a base around 1 km away from the stricken area rushed to the site and shifted the injured woman to a local hospital," Karim Urush from provincial police told Xinhua. The aim of the attack was to terrorize people and cause panic among the residents.
The Afghan civilians continue to bear the brunt of armed conflicts as more than 2,810 civilians were killed and over 7,950 others injured in conflict-related incidents in 2019, according to figures released by Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC).
The Improvised Explosive Device explosions, ground fighting, suicide attacks were the leading cause of civilians' casualties in 2019, followed by targeted attacks and pro-government forces-related airstrikes, according to AIHRC.
Out of total casualties, 282 women and 445 children were killed last year in separate incidents, according to AIHRC.
