Jawad Sharifzada
KABUL: Sixty civilians were killed and 102 others wounded in various violence-related incidents over the past one week, the Ministry of Interior has said.
An Afghan boy who was injured in a bomb blast lies in hospital in Farah province November 20, 2009. A suicide bomber on a motorcycle detonated his explosives in a crowded area in southwest Afghanistan on Friday, killing 15 people, including a senior police official, Afghan authorities said. (Photo: REUTERS)
Most of the civilian casualties occurred in volatile southern provinces of Ghazni, Helmand and Kandahar as a result of roadside bombs, rocket attacks, ambushes and suicide attacks, the ministry added.
In a statement on Sunday, the ministry said the death toll showed a 58 per cent increase over previous week's civilian casualties.
The casualties inflicted on enemy forces included 72 dead, seven injured and 76 detained, registering a 27 per cent decrease compared to last week.
Police casualties jumped by 39 per cent with 23 officials killed and 34 others wounded during the week, according to the statement.
As many as 76 terrorists were netted, 42 bombs defused and 45 different kinds of weapons seized over the past seven days.
Additionally, an 89 per cent increase was recorded in narcotics-related activities this week. Eleven tonnes of narcotics were seized and 19 people arrested from different parts of the country.