KABUL, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan army found and defused 51 rounds of landmines and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) within a day, Defense Ministry said on Monday.
"The Afghan National Army (ANA) engineering teams found and neutralized 51 rounds of landmines, roadside bombs and IEDs in different provinces within the past 24 hours," the ministry said in a statement.
Taliban militants and Islamic State (IS) fighters have been using the home-made IEDs to target security forces but the lethal weapons also inflict casualties on civilians.
Finding and neutralizing the weapons remained a challenge for Afghan security forces.
Some 2,640 civilians were killed and over 5,370 others injured in conflict-related incidents in the first nine months of the year, according to figures released by the United Nations mission in the country.
The IED and landmine explosions were the third largest cause of civilians' casualties following ground fighting and suicide attacks while unexploded ordnances and explosive remnants of war also frequently cause casualties among the Afghans elsewhere in the country.
