Kabul, April 8 (IANS) Anti-government militants have gunned seven civilians in Afghanistan's northern Balkh province, local police said Wednesday.

"The victims went to a mountain side for picnic in Taliban-held area in Sholgara district on Tuesday. They were held by militants and were shot dead later on the Tuesday evening," Sayyid Aref Iqbal, police chief of Sholgara, told Xinhua.

Local villagers shifted the bodies to the district center and their relatives were notified, the police chief added.

Taliban militant group has not made comments so far.

The Afghan civilians continue to bear the brunt of armed conflicts as more than 3,400 civilians were killed and over 6,900 others injured in conflict-related incidents in 2019, according to the figures released by UN mission in the country.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has attributed 62 per cent of the civilian casualties to the Taliban and other insurgent groups, 28 per cent to security forces over the period while the rest 10 per cent were caused by other reasons.

--IANS sdr/