At least 10 de-miners of an international de-mining trust were killed and 16 wounded in an attack on Tuesday night in northern Afghanistan, the country’s interior ministry confirmed. 

The incident happened in Baghlan-e-Marzaki city of the northern province of Baghlan when unknown gunmen barged into one of the local camps of HALO, the world’s largest humanitarian landmine clearance trust. A total of 110 people, including locals, were present in the camp.

Tariq Arian, the spokesperson of the Afghan Ministry of Interior, blamed the attack on the Taliban. Within hours, the insurgent group issued a statement, denying their involvement in the incident. 

In a statement released on Twitter Wednesday, The HALO Trust said, “We strongly condemn the attack on our staff who were carrying out humanitarian work to save lives. We are focused now on the care of injured staff and supporting the affected families.” 

Afghanistan is one of the most dangerous countries, littered with land mines and bombs and causing hundreds of civilian casualties every month. Earlier, the United Nations, too, had warned against the increased usage of mines in the country. 

In recent months, the usage of mines has increased even in urban areas of Afghanistan. The Taliban, too, has intensified their attacks on Afghan security forces, with fighting continues in 26 out of its total 34 provinces. 

(SAM)