Afghan civilians killed in blast

An improvised explosive device went off as a rickshaw hit it, killing women and children. Last Modified: 19 Jan 2011 10:14 GMT

There have been three roadside bombings in the last four days in Afghanistan In Afghanistan, a roadside bomb has killed 13 civilians, including women and children, according to an official. The device went off as a rickshaw hit it on Wednesday morning. The incident took place in Nawi Kali area, Khoshamand district of Paktika province, which is on Afghanistan's border region with Pakistan, where Taliban fighters have hideouts. Afghanistan's interior ministry has blamed the attack on "enemies of Afghanistan's people", a phrase often used by officials to refer to the Taliban. Afghanistan National Police has launched an investigation into the case. A total of 28 Afghan civilians have now been killed in three roadside bombings in the last four days. The latest incident comes three days after nine civilians, including six women, two men and a child, died in a roadside bombing in northern Afghanistan when they were travelling to a wedding on a road often used by foreign forces. A day earlier, another roadside bomb killed six people travelling in a minibus in the Sangin district of Helmand province in the troubled south. Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) or home-made bombs are the weapon of choice for insurgents and are a frequent cause of death for civilians as well as foreign troops in Afghanistan. Afghan officials say that last year 2,043 civilians died as a result of Taliban attacks and military operations targeting the fighters.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies