A/HRC/40/45 international military forces which aimed at better protecting civilians from the tactics causing the most harm to civilians. IV. Children and armed conflict 27. Between 1 January and 30 November, the country task force on monitoring and reporting on children and armed conflict verified 1,171 incidents of killing and maiming of children, a 24 per cent decrease in the number of incidents compared with the same period in 2017. There was a 4 per cent decrease in the number of child casualties compared with the same period in 2017, with the task force verifying that at least 832 children were killed and 2,017 injured. 28. During the reporting period, ground engagements were the leading cause of child casualties, accounting for 40 per cent of such casualties, with 1,141 boys and girls killed and injured (273 deaths and 868 injured). Improvised explosive devices were the second leading cause, with 483 casualties (116 deaths and 367 injured), followed by explosive remnants of war, resulting in 405 casualties (130 deaths and 275 injured). Of concern, child casualties from aerial operations increased by 55 per cent, with the task force documenting 407 child casualties (179 deaths and 228 injured) compared with 263 (113 deaths and 150 injured) during the same period in 2017. The task force documented 248 child casualties (65 deaths and 183 injured) from suicide attacks – a 75 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2017. Targeted killings resulted in 78 child casualties (40 deaths and 38 injured), a decrease of almost 40 per cent compared with the same period in 2017. 29. The task force recorded child casualties in all regions of Afghanistan, with the highest numbers recorded in the southern (699), eastern (544) and northern (427) regions. 30. Anti-government elements were responsible for 45 per cent of child casualties while 33 per cent were attributed to pro-government forces. Fifteen per cent of child casualties were attributed to both anti-government elements and pro-government forces and 1 per cent to cross-border shelling, while the remaining 6 per cent could not be attributed to any party to the conflict. 31. During the reporting period, the task force verified 179 incidents affecting education and education-related personnel. Such incidents included attacks on schools 4 and educationrelated personnel, incidents of threats, intimidation and harassment, abduction of educationrelated personnel and the military use of schools. In addition, the task force verified 81 election-related incidents affecting schools designated as voter registration centres and polling stations for the parliamentary elections. The task force attributed 164 incidents affecting education and related personnel to anti-government elements, 13 to progovernment forces and 2 to both anti-government elements and pro-government forces. The task force also verified four incidents of military use of schools; three were attributed to the Afghan National Army and one to ISIL-Khorasan Province. 32. The task force verified 57 incidents affecting health facilities and related personnel, as in 2017. Of these, 41 were attributed to anti-government elements, 14 to pro-government forces and 2 jointly to pro-government forces and anti-government elements. On 2 August, in Talaqan village, Panjwayi District, Kandahar Province, an ambulance transporting a pregnant woman in labour from Mushan village to Kandahar city was hit by a remotecontrolled improvised explosive device, injuring six civilians and causing damage to the ambulance. On 13 June, in Kamdish District, Nuristan Province, anti-government elements set fire to the district hospital building, equipment and an ambulance and handcuffed and abducted six staff members, including a doctor, two male nurses, one driver and two security guards. The staff were released unharmed within a few hours. Following the incident, the health clinic suspended its services. 4 6 This includes attacks that directly targeted schools as well as indiscriminate attacks that incidentally affected schools.