At least five civilians, including three children and two women, were killed after a mortar landed on civilian homes in the city of Qalat, the center of Zabul province in the south of Afghanistan, a health official said.

The incident happened during a clash between government forces and the Taliban on the outskirts of Qalat on Thursday evening.

Nazir Harifal, a chief physician at Zabul Hospital, said 12 more were wounded in the incident.

He said that some of the wounded are in critical condition.

Zabul police blamed the Taliban for the incident. Taliban so far has not commented on the incident.

Violence has remained unprecedently high in the country in the last three months. A UN report last week said civilian casualties in the first half of 2021 have reached record levels.