Mortar attack kills father, four children in central Afghanistan

Five family members have been killed after a mortar, allegedly fired by Taliban militants, hit a civilian house in central Logar province of Afghanistan, an official said on Saturday.The incident took place in the Alozay area of provincial capital Pul-e-Alam city on Thursday evening, Mir Haidar Selab, a spokesman for the provincial governor, told dpa."The victims are the father and his four children: two sons and two daughters between the ages of 5 and 13," Selab said.Afghan security forces went to the area to install a security check post and were attacked by Taliban militants, Saleb said, adding that a mortar fired by Taliban targeting the security post hit a civilian house which resulted in the casualties. According to Selab, mortars fired by the Taliban also caused serious damages to a mosque and a number of houses in the area.Civilians increasingly are taking the brunt of the fighting between armed insurgents and Afghan security forces throughout the war-torn country.More than one-third of all civilian casualties in the first half of the year were attributed to ground engagements between militants and Afghan security forces, according to a mid-year report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in July. On May 14, five children were killed and two others were wounded when a mortar shell allegedly fired by the Taliban landed in a playing ground in Afghanistan's eastern Laghman province.