Roadside bomb planted by Taliban kills 6 civilians in Kandahar

AFP

KANDAHAR -- At least six people were killed Tuesday (June 11) after a roadside bomb ripped through their vehicle in Kandahar Province.

The vehicle was travelling from Dand District to the provincial capital when the bomb detonated near the car, killing everyone inside, according to provincial police spokesman Qasim Afghan.

"Four children -- two girls and two boys -- are among those killed in the blast. They are all members of one family," he told AFP.

Haji Abdullah, governor of Dand District, said the bomb was placed by the Taliban on a road frequently used by foreign and Afghan forces.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and the Taliban were not immediately available to comment on the incident.

Insurgents, however, often use roadside bombs and land mines to target Afghan security forces -- but the lethal weapons also inflict heavy casualties on civilians.

Years of conflict have left Afghanistan strewn with land mines, unexploded mortars, rockets and homemade bombs -- and many are picked up by curious children.

Last month, a land mine explosion killed seven children and wounded two others after one of the victims stepped on the ordnance in Ghazni Province.

According to the United Nations, almost 4,000 civilians -- including more than 900 children -- were killed in Afghanistan last year, with another 7,000 wounded, making it the deadliest year to date for civilians in Afghanistan's conflict.

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