16,500 kgs of explosives seized from a Pakistan trailer truck in Kabul

AVA- The Afghan Intelligence, National Directorate of Security (NDS), said at least five people were also arrested in connection to the transportation of the explosives.

A statement by NDS said the explosives were of Ammonium Nitrate type which are mainly used in suicide bombings and making of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) for the roadside bombings.

The anti-government armed militant groups have not commented regarding the report so far.

This is not the first time the Afghan security forces have seized explosives or Ammonium Nitrate being exported from Pakistan but on numerous other occasions thousands of kilograms of explosives have been discovered and seized in similar operations.

Taliban insurgents and militants belonging to other insurgent groups frequently use improvised explosive devices as the weapon of their choice to target the security forces and government personnel but in majority of such attacks the ordinary civilians are targeted while in some cases the militants are killed in premature explosions.

The new report by United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA)  highlights that 40 per cent of all civilian casualties during the six-month period were killed or injured by anti-government forces using improvised explosive devices (IEDs), such as suicide bombs and pressure-plate devices, which were responsible for the deaths of 596 civilians and injured 1,483.