MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan, April 9 (Xinhua) -- At least nine members of local uprising group were killed after the vehicle they were travelling was struck by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Afghanistan's northern province of Balkh on Saturday, local authorities said on Sunday.
"Four more fighters of the local uprising group, a government-backed local militiamen, aboard the vehicle were also wounded as a result of the IED blast which occurred late Saturday in Chimtal district," Noor Mohammad Faiz, a provincial health official, told Xinhua.
Local people blamed Taliban militant group for planting the IED along the road as the Taliban uses the home-made IEDs to target security forces.
Over 200 armed rebels affiliated with the Taliban surrendered to the government in Chimtal, southwestern of provincial capital Mazar-i-Sharif city, earlier this month.
The violence has been on the rise as Afghan security forces struggle against a surge in attacks by anti-government fighters since the drawdown of foreign forces over the past two years.
