Kabul, Sep 20 (IANS): Afghanistan's Defence Ministry on Sunday said 4,776 IEDs were discovered and defused across the country in the past six months.

In a statement, the Ministry said the IEDs had been planted by the Taliban on public roads, in residential areas and on highways, reports TOLO News.

"Lives of thousands of civilians were saved and hundreds of kilometres of roads and hundreds of bridges and culverts were preserved as a result of defusing the 4,776 IEDs," the statement said.

The Ministry said that although the use of IEDs was in serious violation of international human rights laws, unfortunately, the Taliban continue to apply it as a war tactic.

In July, official Afghan security data seen by TOLO News indicated that 2,685 civilians were killed or wounded in the five months from January 21 to June 20.

The data also revealed that 351 civilians were killed or wounded between January 21 and February 19, and the casualties increased to 553 between February 20 to March 19.

The rise in civilian casualties and attacks by the Taliban have been sharply criticized by foreign diplomats and critics who say the violence should be reduced to move the peace process forward.