MAIMANA, Afghanistan, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Five civilians were killed and 45 others wounded in an insurgent's mortar shelling on a local bazaar in Afghanistan's northern province of Faryab on Tuesday, local police said.

The incident occurred roughly at 10:00 a.m. local time as insurgents fired three rounds of mortars against Khwaja Sabz Posh district's bazaar, provincial police spokesman Karim Youresh told Xinhua.

The wounded were shifted to the district hospital and the number of casualties was likely to increase as some of the wounded were said in critical condition, he said, adding that among those wounded were children and women.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet, but Taliban militants and Islamic State (IS) fighters have 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 United Nations mission in the country.