Kabul, Jan 16 (IANS): Five civilians were killed and 45 others injured as insurgent used mortar to shell a local bazaar in Afghanistan's northern province on Tuesday, police said.

The incident occurred in the morning as insurgents fired three rounds of mortars against Khwaja Sabz Posh district's market in Faryab province, Xinhua reported.

The wounded were shifted to the district hospital. The number of casualties was likely to increase as some of the wounded were in critical condition, police said.

Police said that among those wounded were children and women.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Taliban militants and Islamic State (IS) fighters have a presence in parts of Faryab.

The province has been the scene of heavy clashes between security forces and militants over the past months.

More than 2,640 civilians were killed and over 5,370 others injured in conflict-related incidents in the first nine months of 2017, according to figures released by the UN mission in the country.