United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) stated on October 7 that in a special report that suicide and non-suicide Improvised Explosive Device (IEDs) reached record highs in the 3rd quarter of 2018. The special report – titled “Increasing Harm to Afghan Civilians form the Deliberate and Indiscriminate Use of Improvised Explosive Devices” – documents a sharp increase from 1 January - 30 September 2018 in the killing and maiming of Afghan civilians by IEDs, which have caused almost half of the civilian casualties from conflict-related violence. Civilian deaths and injuries arising from the combined use of suicide and non-suicide IEDs reached record high levels in the third quarter of 2018, the report stated. Between 1 January and 30 September 2018, UNAMA documented 3,634 civilian casualties (1,065 deaths and 2,569 injured) from suicide and non-suicide IED attacks. These casualty figures include 247 women casualties (72 deaths and 175 injured) and 608 child casualties (155 deaths and 453 injured). Between 1 January and 30 September 2018, civilian casualties from attacks with all types of IEDs increased by 21 percent compared with the same period in 2017, while the number of civilian casualties from suicide IED attacks increased by 46 percent. The use of suicide IEDs alone caused more civilian deaths and injuries than any other tactic, including ground engagements. Non-suicide IEDs also continued to cause extremely high levels of civilian casualties – most concurringly from indiscriminate victim-activated pressure-plate IEDs. UNAMA attributed all civilian casualties from suicide and non-suicide IEDs during this period to anti-government elements, with 52 percent of civilian casualties attributed to Islamic State (IS), 40 percent to Taliban, and the remainder to undetermined anti-Government elements. Kabul Province continued to record the highest number of civilian casualties from armed conflict, mainly due to suicide IED attacks by anti-government elements in densely populated civilian areas of the capital. Between 1 January and 30 September 2018, UNAMA documented 1,402 civilian casualties (433 deaths and 969 injured) in Kabul city, with 99 percent of these caused by suicide and other IED attacks. So far in 2018, the mission has documented 34 IED incidents causing civilian casualties in Kabul province (23 suicide IED attacks and 11 non-suicide IED attacks).