Nine victims of the 27 people killed in the artillery attack in Sangin district in the southern province of Helmand were members of one family, according to locals who talked to TOLOnews on Tuesday.

The UN mission in Afghanistan also said that based on its "initial" and “impartial” findings, the Afghan National Army mortars inflicted heavy civilian casualties Monday at a market in Sangin and that "multiple credible sources assert that the army fired lethal mortars in response to Taliban fire, missing intended target."

The Taliban in Afghanistan have imposed severe restrictions on rights in areas under their control despite claims of reform, the Human Rights Watch said in a report on Tuesday.
 
The report says residents reported "an inability to criticize or question Taliban actions, violations of the rights of women and girls, and also "severe limits on freedom of expression and the media."