Afghan army defuses 27 bombs, landmines in southern provinces

The Afghan army has found and defused 27 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in two southern provinces, the country's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

"The Afghan National Army's 205 Attal Corps personnel during operations in southern Zabul and neighboring Uruzgan provinces, recovered and defused 27 rounds of roadside bombs and IEDs over the past 24 hours," the ministry said.

The army soldiers also seized a weapon cache in Naw Bahar district of Zabul.

About 11 kg explosive materials, two BM1 rockets, three rounds of heavy gun shells, and two mortar shell rounds were among the ammunition found in the cache, it noted.

The Taliban militant group has been using IEDs to target security forces but the lethal weapons also inflict casualties on civilians, according to military officials.

More than 3,540 civilians were killed and over 7,450 others injured in 2015 as the violence spread in different places of the country, according to a report released by the UN mission in the country on Sunday.

Out of the casualties, 713 civilians were killed and more than 1, 650 injured by IED attacks last year.