In Afghanistan, six people were killed and several wounded when a mortar shell hit a house during a wedding ceremony in northern Kapisa province. The explosion yesterday evening was in the Tagab district, which has seen fighting between the Afghan government forces and the Taliban insurgents.<br />'' <br />''Shayeq Shoresh, a spokesman for the provincial police, blamed the Taliban for firing the mortar. A Taliban spokesman dismissed the allegation and said the mortar was fired by Afghan security forces. Afghan civilians often bear the brunt of the attacks as they are caught in the crossfire. Violence has sharply increased across the country since Washington announced plans last month to pull out all US troops out of Afghanistan by 11th September.<br />'' <br />''<span style="color: #222222;">According to the United Nations, nearly 1,800 Afghan civilians have been killed or wounded in the first three months of 2021. Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission in its annual report last year said that there were 8,500 civilian casualties in 2020, including 2,958 deaths. </span><br />