8 children killed in landmine explosion in Afghanistan

Eight children were killed and six others wounded in a landmine explosion in Afghanistan's northern province of Faryab, local police said Saturday.

The incident occurred in Koh-e-Sayyad village of Shirin Tagab district, north of provincial capital Maimana city on Friday evening, provincial police spokesman Abdul Karim Urash told Xinhua, blaming the Taliban militant group for planting the landmine.

The victims were aged between six and 12, according to the police spokesman.

Taliban militants and Islamic State (IS) militants have been using improvised explosive devices (IEDs), targeting security forces, but the lethal home-made weapons also inflict casualties on civilians.

More than 1,690 civilians were killed and over 3,430 others injured in conflict-related incidents in the first half of the year in the war-torn country, according to figures released by the United Nations mission in the country.

Out of the casualties, 363 children lost their lives while 992 children injured during the period.