Security officials in Balkh province say that seven members of a family were shot dead under mysterious circumstances in Chamtal district of Balkh province.

Mohammad Asaf Waziri, Balkh police spokesman, says the incident took place on Friday night.

According to Waziri, children and women were among the victims.

Waziri says an investigation is being carried out and that the perpetrators are being sought.

The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum said Saturday two Chinese nationals and three Afghans were arrested while trying to smuggle about 1,000 tons of rocks containing raw lithium out of the country.

The lithium was seized while being illegally transported to Nangarhar province from Nuristan and Kunar.

The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum said about 300 tons was seized in Nangarhar and handed over to the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, and about 700 tons was seized in Kunar province.

According to the ministry the arrests were made by security and intelligence agencies.

Dr. Bashir, the head of operational affairs of the intelligence department, said at a press conference in Nangarhar province on Saturday: “We found out that there was a plan to smuggle these precious stones, which are not contracted and are extracted secretly. Therefore, in order to arrest the main perpetrators, we gave them a chance to reach Jalalabad city. Five people were arrested, two foreign smugglers who are Chinese and three Afghans who were their collaborators and did most of the buying,” said Bashir.

Lithium is a rare metal that is mostly used in modern technology, including smart phone batteries, electric motors, computers and drones.

Officials add that according to the decree of the leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, smuggling and illegal transfer of the mineral of the country is prohibited.

Nangarhar officials said Thursday that 66 prisoners, including women and children, have been released from the province’s central prison.

According to Nangarhar’s provincial media office, the prisoners were freed on the order of the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), and were reunited with their families.

Sheikh Mohammad Gulab Farooqi, the head of the Nangarhar Appeal Court, said that five women, 11 children and 50 men were released.

“Within one and a half months, the cases of the remaining prisoners will be examined and those whose crimes are minor or those who have been forgiven by the other side will be released,” Farooqi said.

Mawolavi Bilal Shahin, the head of Nangarhar prisons, says that currently 1,100 people are incarcerated at the facility and that educational programs have been provided for them.