Casualties decline by 50pc in June, thanks to Eid truce

KABUL, the Civilian Protection Advocacy Group (CPAG) said on Sunday.

In June 2017, 1043 people had been killed and wounded in 16 provinces of the country. Last month, the government and the Taliban observed a truce during the Eidul Fitr festival as a result there was peace in almost all over the country.

During the Eid ceasefire, the group said in a statement, only Nangarhar province witnessed a suicide attack by the Islamic State, locally known as Daesh. A number of civilians were killed and injured.

Most of casualties happened in Nangarhar, where 24 civilians were killed and 130 others injured. Kabul and Herat were the other provinces where the casualties remained high.

CPAG statistics showed most of the casualties resulted from suicide bombings claimed by Daesh. As many as 70 civilians were killed and 170 others injured in Daesh attacks last month. In June 2017 also, most casualties had been caused by the same militant outfit.

Eighty civilians were killed and 170 injured by unidentified armed men, landmines, mortar shells and rocket attacks. Roadside bombs harming civilians largely happened in Taliban-controlled areas, the group said.

In addition, civilians have been targeted and displaced as a result of clashes between the security forces and Taliban. US forces also inflicted casualties on civilians last month. Six civilians were killed and one injured in a US airstrike in the Want Waigal district of Nuristan.

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