KABUL, April 26 (Xinhua) — The Afghan National Army personnel had found and defused 26 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and landmines in two southern provinces, the Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

“The army bomb disposal teams discovered and defused 26 IEDs and landmines in Shorabak and Shah Wali Kot districts of Kandahar province and Nawbahar and Shinkai districts of neighboring Zabul province over the past 24 hours,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Taliban militant group has been using IEDs to target security forces but the lethal weapons also inflict casualties on civilians.

The Afghan security forces have beefed up security operations against militants recently as spring and summer known as fighting season is drawing near in the country.

More than 3,540 civilians were killed and over 7,450 others injured in 2015 as the violence spreads in different places of the country, according to a report released by United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

Out of the casualties, 713 civilians were killed and more than 1, 650 injured by IED attacks last year, the report found.

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