Afghanistan: Roadside bomb kills 6 civilians

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Afghanistan: Roadside bomb kills 6 civilians

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At least six civilians were killed by a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday.

12 November,2011 03:48 pm

A roadside bomb hit a civilian car in Alingar district of Laghman province, killing six people including one woman, said Laghman provincial spokesman Faizanullah Patan.The bombing, which took place at about 10am, was confirmed by interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi in Kabul, who said that four civilians had been killed.Laghman province is located in volatile eastern Afghanistan towards the border with Pakistan, where insurgents have hideouts.It has long been troubled by insurgents, particularly by the Hezb-e-Islami faction led by former prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.Control of security in the provincial capital, Mehtar Lam, was handed from foreign to Afghan government forces control in the first wave of transition in July.This transition process is due to take place gradually across the country and should eventually see all foreign combat troops leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014, although a sizeable mission will remain to train Afghan forces.Another district in Laghman, Qarghayi, is expected to be among the second wave of transition locations. President Hamid Karzai had been expected to announce these at a regional conference in Istanbul this month, but did not.Afghan civilians have paid a high price in the decade-long war in their country.The United Nations has said the number of civilians killed in the Afghan war in the first half of this year rose 15 percent to 1,462, with insurgents responsible for 80 percent of the deaths.Last week, Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar issued a statement to mark Eid al-Adha calling on insurgents to reduce civilian casualties.However, this was condemned as hypocritical by human rights group Amnesty International, who said it was more about propaganda and less about actually protecting civilians.Elsewhere in Afghanistan Saturday, two policemen and two civilians were wounded by a roadside bomb which targeted a police vehicle in Herat city, western Afghanistan, Herat governors spokesman Mohayddin Noori said.Herat city was also part of the first wave of transition in July.There are around 140,000 international troops, mainly from the United States, in Afghanistan helping government forces combat a Taliban-led insurgency.The Taliban were ousted from power by a US-led invasion in 2001 following the September 11 attacks in the United States.