Land mine blast kills 15 civilians in Afghanistan

At least 15 civilians were killed in Afghanistan's northern Kunduz province bordering Tajikistan on Tuesday in a land mine blast allegedly planted by the Taliban, an official confirmed.

The incident took place in the Imam Saheb district when a passenger car hit a land mine planted by Taliban insurgents, killing 15 civilians, including eight women and two children, and injuring two others, said Nusrat Rahimi, Interior Ministry spokesman.

The civilians were on their way from neighboring Khan Abad to attend a wedding in Imam Saheb when their car hit the land mine in Aaey Kham Chaal in the evening, said the provincial administration.

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

It comes amid various initiatives to reinvigorate the fragile Afghan peace talks as the war enters its 19th year with no immediate signs of respite.

According to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, in recent months the armed conflict in the country saw the deaths of over 1,600 civilians and the wounding of nearly 4,900.