QALAT, May 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) – At least 11 civilians were killed and 25 others wounded, when a Taliban roadside bomb struck a passenger bus, along a provincial highway in Afghanistan’s southern Zabul province last night, the local government confirmed today.
“The incident occurred in Shahr-e-Safa district, at midnight. The provincial police and rescue teams, transported the wounded to a regional hospital in Kandahar province, in the west of Zabul. The number of casualties may change, as several wounded were in critical condition,” the government said in a statement.
Some 43 people were aboard the bus when the explosion occurred, the statement said.
“The bodies were transported to a provincial hospital. The provincial police will try to contact and notify relatives of the victims,” the statement said, blaming the Taliban for the attack.
Militants in Afghanistan have been using homemade improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to make roadside bombs and landmines targeting security forces, but the lethal weapons also inflict casualties on civilians.
More than 920 civilians were killed and over 1,640 others wounded in IED explosions last year, according to official figures.– NNN-AGENCIES
