KABUL, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Afghan forces and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops defused nine Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in eastern Afghan provinces within 24 hours, said the ISAF forces Sunday.
"Afghan and coalition forces found and safely cleared nine improvised explosive devices, discovered one cache, detained three suspected insurgents and killed one insurgent during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours," ISAF's Regional Command-East (RC-East) said in a press release.
The home-made IEDs were neutralized in Khost, Paktya, Logar and Kunar provinces, it said.
A total of 2,754 Afghan civilians were killed and 4,805 injured in conflict-related violence in 2012, according a UN report released last month.
Out of total fatalities, up to 868 were killed and 1,663 were wounded in IED blasts across the country, according to the report.
The UN report attributed 81 percent of the civilian deaths to the attacks of Taliban insurgents and other armed groups, another 8 percent of the deaths were attributed to Afghan and NATO-led forces and 11 percent were unattributed.
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