Landmine blast kills 7 labourers in Afghanistan

Officials in Kunduz province blame Taliban for planting bomb in Khan Abad district killing farmers

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: A landmine blast in Afghanistan's restive northern Kunduz province killed at least seven farm labourers, an official confirmed on Tuesday.

The governor's spokesperson  Esmatullah Muradi told Anadolu Agency the incident took place in the Jungle Bashi area of Khan Abad district last evening where an improvised explosive device planted by the Taliban hit a convoy of farmers.

"There were 13 labourers in total who were coming back from work in the wheat fields when their motorcycle-rickshaw hit the landmine. Seven of them were martyred and six injured," he said.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.

Kunduz remains among the most restive provinces in war-ravaged Afghanistan with the Taliban insurgents briefly overrunning its capital, Kunduz city, at least twice in the past three years.

Such landmines, mostly planted in areas controlled or contested by the Taliban continue to cause havoc in the country with some 30 per cent of the total civilian casualties (1,293) in the first three months of this year, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.